#// in the guise of yay more cookies

[umbralexemplar]

🍪

Shade purses her lips. Such a game had to be beneath her, surely? Come now, a woman of her age, being roped into a game like this. 

But really, was there a reason to refuse? That cookie did look quite delicious…

“Alright, fine, just this once. I’ll see what this game is all about.” She hovers her face across from Yunaka, resting her end of the biscuit delicately in her lips. Taking after her partner, she too takes a bite, inching ever closer. Her black lipstick leaves a stain, trailing to Yunaka’s lips. Just as they meet, Shade bites down, taking her share of the prize, and backs up, munching on the sweetness. The cookie is delicious, the chocolate settling lightly on her tongue, and she sighs with a satisfied smile. It had been worth weathering the storm of this frivolous game for a free little treat after all. 

Turning back to Yunaka in thanks, Shade can’t help but notice a smudge of her lipstick on the other professor’s lips. She flushes, embarrassed; surely, it was not the time to be pressing kisses. Hurriedly, she pulls a handkerchief from her skirt. “One moment, let me get this…” Though, it was a cute touch on a cute professor, she thinks.

[friendly-neighborhood-boricua]

[6] You Get A Visitor in the ER

Summary: You're working overtime when you get a visit from an unexpected someone who makes your shift just a bit less excruciating.

Notes: Marauders modern elementary school AU, kindergarten teacher!James Potter x nurse!single mom!reader.

A/N (26/7/2024): this is edited but still kinda short so I may come back to it at some point and add some things ... second to last chapter yay!

Previous Part: James Takes Liam to School Next Part: Kindergarten Graduation Series Masterlist here

About two weeks ago, you woke up in the middle of the night to a hard thump from Liam’s room

You were in his doorway in a flash, of course, because what if he’s dying

And tbh you were kinda close

Turns out he fell out of his bed and the lower right side of his abdomen was hurting really bad

You figured out pretty quick that he probably had appendicitis, which is definitely not ideal

So one rather tense ambulance ride and night in the ER and OR later, you wheeled Liam out of the hospital in a wheelchair so he wouldn't mess up his stitches too much after literally getting an organ removed

You texted James to let him know what happened and that Liam would be staying hope from school for a week to recover

(James had managed to give you his number under the guise of offering to drive Liam to and from school in the future and although you haven't had to ask or even use his number at all, he still has you as one of his pinned contacts)

(Sirius and Remus make fun of him for it)

(Your contact photo is actually a photo of Liam where he's smiling really big while mixing cookie dough for your birthday, which was about three months ago)

As always, James was totally sympathetic and understanding and even dropped by your apartment after school with work for Laim so he wouldn't fall too far behind

You took the week off from work to watch Liam, of course

But you're paying for it now bc your CNO super sucks and isn't understanding at all when it comes to your kid

So now he has you working a fucking double to make up for your missed days

Two 12-hour shifts in a row, 6AM to 6AM

Not fucking fun, dude

(Your CNO is the absolute worst—this is the one that James is pretty sure violates labor laws pretty consistently)

He actually wanted you to do three doubles over the next two weeks but Poppy (not the CNO, but she’s been a nurse at this hospital for time immemorial) told him off, so you only have to do the one today

And at the very least, it’s in the ER

Which isn’t terrible

Definitely not as bad as med-surg

I mean yeah, it can be stressful but it’s nowhere near as bad as medical dramas make it out to be, and it’s pretty rewarding most of the time

It’s a Friday, so Tonks watched Liam in the morning and took him to school, where Ms. Hope picked him up and held onto him for a couple hours until it was time for Ron's sleepover, which she then dropped him off at

So he’s safe and taken care of

And it’s been a pretty quiet night tbh

There was a big car crash during rush hour in the morning but beyond that, nothing super crazy or out of the ordinary

So now you’re on triage duty with Poppy (which just means you and her are hanging out and talking while waiting for something—anything—to happen)

Lily, one of the administrative aides that checks people into the ER, finally pokes her head into the ER at half past ten at night, and it’s rather urgent

Apparently someone’s cut their had pretty badly

You lose a rapid-fire game of rock paper scissors against Poppy, so it’s you that goes to evaluate the patient

But when you enter the ER fast track, you’re really quite surprised

"James?"

To be fair, James is also quite surprised to see you, it's just that he's more smiley and pleased than distressed

He’s hovering near one of the beds and has what seems to be a kitchen towel wrapped around his palm, which you now see has been bleeding quite profusely

You’re at his side embarrassingly quickly and asking him standard questions as he stares at you with a rather glassy look on his face

What happened? Cut my hand while cooking. Can you feel your hand? Um, yeah, it … it hurts pretty bad. Can you tell if it’s still bleeding? I can’t really, no. Do you feel lightheaded at all? Mm, yeah, just … just a bit. Did someone drive you here? Yeah, um, Sirius did … they told him to wait in the lobby.

James is in shock, that much is clear

You ease him to take a seat on the bed and quickly grab a couple forms, which you fill out as you continue asking him questions

Poor boy gets really concerned when you make for the door to the ER proper but ofc you reassure him you’ll be back in a second

You ask Poppy to get Dr. Longbottom before quickly returning to James

And James—Sweet Summer Child James—he's just asking you what you’re doing here so late, if Liam is at Ms. Hope’s, just random questions that aren’t super related to one another

He’s super out of it but you entertain his thoughts and answer whatever questions come to his mind as you ensure that his kitchen towel is applying a decent enough amount of pressure

Alice shows up pretty quickly with a suture tray and asks you to clean James’ cut as she gets ready, which you readily do

You also let her know that James isn’t exactly all there, to which she smiles amusedly and says she can see that lmao

James is kinda confused at first when Alice tries to take away the towel around his hand, but you gently explain what's happening and he understands pretty quick

He looks down at his hand when you finally uncover the cut (it’s long but clean—easy to stitch right up) and poor boy gets a little too light headed at the sight of all the blood that’s covering his hands and the kitchen towel and your latex-gloved hands

James just about falls over onto your shoulder lmaooooo

He doesn’t quite pass out, just like a severe wave of lightheadedness

You quickly encourage him off of your shoulder and you and Alice manage to lay him down on the hospital bed just so he won’t fall off of it and hurt himself if he does decide to pass out

The cut is easy to clean despite how bloody it is, and you round the bed to James’ opposite side as Alice prepares to administer the anesthetic and sew James’ hand up

This entire time, James has just been following your around with his eyes

He’s never gotten to see you work before and it’s really quite interesting to him

And he loves that you’re taking care of him (Such Gentle! Yay!)

Alice asks you to keep James talking and distracted while she sews him up and you happily obliged

It’s kinda hard to keep James talking though because he just keeps asking you questions

By the time Alice is finished with James’ hand, you’ve told him about Liam’s recovery, your shift so far, and how shitty your CNO is for making you work a double

James is much more lucid by the time his stitches are finished which is great because he was sort of starting to worry you

But he’s pretty much all there now :)

He’s also disclosed to you that he cut his hand while trying to take the pit out of an avocado, which you find absolutely hilarious even though you couldn’t really laugh at your own patient

Alice leaves you to wrap James’ hand in protective gauze and give him post-op care instructions

And James is honestly thrilled that your shift has been a quiet one

Because he’s sure that if anyone beyond you two were in the fast track, they would have seen clear as day how he looked at you while you wrapped some soft gauze firmly around his palm

He’s lucky though because you’re tired after working for about sixteen hours with eight still to go, so you don’t really notice the look in his eyes

You give him the normal spiel—wash around the area of the stitches with soap and water not hydrogen peroxide, put vaseline over it, wrap in a non-stick bandage, the works

By the time you’re done, James is just kinda staring at you

You tack on at the end that he can always text you or drop by your apartment to make sure he’s taking care of them correctly

Sirius leaps up from his chair in the lobby when he sees James finally come out of the ER

He was lowkey super worried bc he knows James is the slightest bit squeamish around blood

But now he’s also like super confused bc James is looking at his newly bandaged hand like it had the best compliment ever written on the palm

It’s only on the car ride home that Sirius finally weasels it out of James

Apparently Liam’s mom was working in the ER and she was the one who bandaged up his hand for him after he got stitched up

And apparently, when James was complaining lightly that his palm still hurt right as he was about to leave, she brushed a light kiss against his palm and whispered something to him about how kisses make everything better

Sirius practically has to pick his jaw up off the floor as he and James walked into the latter’s apartment, where Remus had apparently finished their rather bloody attempt at guacamole

And then of course he made James explain what happened to Remus, who just laughs and shakes his head

James’ only regret is that he was too stunned to do anything except wave goodbye as you left

Next Part: Kindergarten Graduation

[frostclawdragoon]

Prompt #7: Name Day - Nonagenarian

“Now close your eyes and make a wish!”

The tiny miqo’te boy of now five winters shut his bright blue eyes tight, then took a breath and blew out the single candle affixed to the tiny cupcake in front of him. Senah immediately began clapping delightfully and with excitement.

“Hurray! You did it!” She exclaimed as she continued to clap. “One year older!”

“Can I eat it now?” The boy asked as he looked to Senah with wide eyes of anticipation.

“Of course!”

The boy picked the cupcake up and began scarfing it down, and Senah stood from her seat in a panic.

“Wait, wait! The wrapper is still on it! Senah’ya don’t eat that--!”

Mihba, a dragon in the guise of a miqo’te woman, watched as the mother fussed over her son from across the room. She leaned against the doorway to the kitchen with her arms crossed, her expression vacant, though her eyes were soft at the scene unfolding in front of her. Another year had passed, and another year Senah got to spend with her child, the very one who had been condemned to death by the elders of her clan. Mihba glanced over her shoulder, keeping an ever close watch on the front door to the home. Senah’ya had survived as long as he had because of Mihba’s involvement, if not for her, the child would have been left to the wolves.

She looked back at the two sitting at the table, watching as Senah wiped away the smear of chocolate all over her son’s face. She couldn’t help but smile a small bit at the quiet moment the small family had.

When Senah leaned away from her son, she noticed Mihba’s soft smile and smiled widely back at her before patting on the table, toward the empty seat across from her.

“Come sit with us!”

Mihba shook her head. “Not until I am certain we will not have uninvited guests.”

Senah pushed up from her seat and shuffled over, taking her by her hands and pulling her to the table. Mihba didn’t resist.

“You’re always working and guarding!” She scolded while she brought Mihba to the table. “Sit down for a little bit and help Senah’ya celebrate his name day!”

Mihba sighed softly in defeat, then pulled a chair out and sat down. Senah followed suit, her delighted smile only growing.

“... May I ask something?” Mihba questioned as she pulled her chair in a bit.

“Hm?”

“I had believed that you were celebrating Senah’ya’s name day because of his circumstances, and that he is lucky to be alive, thus it is worth celebrating.” Mihba explained as she looked to the miqo’te boy as he idly reached for the cookies in front of him. “But I was asked today if Senah’ya’s name day would bring about a party at our home?” She looked to Senah again. “I said no, and they looked at me strangely and I have not been able to shake the thought. Did you alert people in the village of Senah’ya’s situation and forgot to tell me?”

Senah stared at her. “... Do dragons not celebrate name days?”

“No we do not. Is that a thing all humans do?”

Senah thought for a moment, her lips puckering out as she hmmed. “I suppose since you live for so long… You wouldn’t have any need to celebrate becoming a year older, would you?” She leaned forward, setting her elbows on the table. “Humans celebrate the day of their birth because life is worth celebrating, because it is so fleeting and so short. So we make it an event!”

“I see…”

“How old are you?” Senah asked.

“I do not know.” Mihba answered. “Age is something I never particularly kept track of.”

“So you’ve been alive for who knows how long, and you never celebrated your name day?!” Senah looked to the small miqo’te boy near her, her ears lowering with sorrow. “Senah’ya, Mihba has never celebrated her name day.”

“Oh no!” Senah’ya gasped, his oversized ears drooping. “That’s SAD.”

“We should get a cupcake out for her!”

“Yes!” Senah’ya flung his hands into the air, taking care not to also toss the cookie he held.

“I don’t think that is necessary. Besides, it’s Senah’ya’s name day--”

Mihba couldn’t finish. Senah had already gotten up and swept across the room, fetching another cupcake from the countertop. With another candle plopped on top, she returned to the table and set the pastry down in front of Mihba, lighting it carefully with a match. With confusion and the steadily growing feeling of embarrassment, Mihba looked from the flickering tiny flame to the miqo’te woman beside her.

“Senah, please--”

“Happy name day~! Happy, happy name day~!”

Senah began singing the same song she had sung to her son not minutes ago, and Senah’ya joined in. The embarrassment swirling within Mihba for being put on the spot only grew, and she felt the urge to sink into her chair to hide the blush on her face. Or shapeshift into a rat to run and hide in a corner somewhere. But because of the bright smiles and how happy the other two looked and sounded, Mihba simply sat there and allowed them to sing for her.

“Now close yo’ eyes an’ make a wish!” Senah’ya instructed as he pointed to her.

Mihba’s lips pressed together in a fine line, then she shut her eyes. She didn’t see the point in making a wish on a flaming pastry, she didn’t see the point to wishes in general. But, she wanted nothing more than to make her family happy, and so, she sat here with her eyes shut, quietly making a tiny, simple wish to herself… And then she blew out the flame.

“YAY!” Both mother and son clapped and cheered, and Mihba felt her blush worsen.

“Now eat up!” Senah plucked the candle out from the cupcake.

“This… Was supposed to be Senah’ya’s day.” Mihba said as she opened her eyes to look at Senah again.

“I dun mind sharing my name day with you, momma!” Senah’ya said with a wide, bright smile.

The embarrassment and confusion that had swelled in Mihba seemed to vanish instantaneously, replaced with a feeling that she had not quite experienced before. Happiness… That resulted in her eyes stinging with tears. This was such a silly, ridiculous human thing to celebrate, but for some reason, the very idea of having a name day to celebrate with her family brought her so much unreasonable joy. She slowly took the cupcake in her hand, and fought back the tears threatening to roll down her cheeks.

“How old do you think Mihba is now?” Senah asked her son as she sat down in her seat again, a wide and joyous smile on her face.

“Nine-nine!”

“Ninety-nine?!” Senah gasped. “She’s so old!”

Senah’ya laughed. “Yup!”

“I mean… He’s not wrong.” Mihba said as she peeled the wrapper off her cupcake. “I could very well be ninety-nine. Who knows.”

Senah looked to Mihba, her joyous smile replaced with a teasing grin. “You’re such an old lady!”

“Old lady, old lady!” Senah’ya mimed with laughter.

Mihba smiled quietly in response before biting into her cupcake.

--

Winters in the Black Shroud weren’t nearly as harsh as the winters of Coerthas, but it was still quite cold enough that snow was falling and heavy clothing was needed. Wrapped in a coat and scarf, an elezen woman made her way through the Lavender Beds, a small wrapped gift in her gloved hands. It was beyond midnight, on the 20th day of the final month in the year. Everyone was tucked inside their homes, likely long asleep. She was counting on the sleeping part.

Approaching Windsong Manor, the woman stopped just short of the front gate, and quietly, she opened the mailbox beside the gate, tucking the present inside. She took a step back, and looked up at the tall home. She could see some lights were on, but most were off, indicating the members of the free company were fast asleep. Good. She could be out of here without being seen or noticed.

She turned. Then froze. Right behind her stood a tall, muscular elezen man. She jumped back from him, tense and ready to defend herself, but stopped when she saw familiar deep purple hair in the dim light from the nearby street lamp.

“Senah’ya--!” She gasped.

“Snooping around a neighborhood at night is going to get you in trouble.” Nalin said flatly.

“How did you know I was here?”

“I didn’t. I just got home from a job and saw you sneaking around.” He tucked his hands into his coat pockets. “You’ve gotten carelessly sloppy.”

“It appears so.” The elezen woman eased slightly, then dipped her head. “My apologies for disturbing your peaceful walk home. I shall be on my way so I do not stir up trouble.”

She took several steps forward, and was just about to pass Nalin, when his hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder, stopping her in place. There was a still silence.

“... It’s a long walk back to Dravania.” He said, finally, breaking the awkward tension in the air.

“I can fly…?”

Nalin sighed tiredly as he let her shoulder go. “It means come inside.”

“Inside?” The woman looked at him, baffled. “For what?”

Nalin glanced at her, then started walking toward the Manor. “Because your gift is inside. Caoimhe picked it out and will be extremely disappointed if you don’t receive it.”

“My gift--?”

“Yes. For your name day.” He stopped and looked back at her. “Are you coming or what, Old Lady?”

The woman stared at Nalin with wide eyes, a flood of memories rushing back all at once. Memories of a time when the three of them hid away from the terrible Coerthian winters and the cruel members of the Frostclaw Clan. Memories of a time where things were soft, simple and happy. Memories of a little, quiet wish that she and her family could be together forever, despite knowing how short human lives were.

… Mihba fetched the gift from the mailbox, then took several steps toward the front gate, where she stopped in hesitation -- checking with Nalin to ensure that this was okay -- before crossing the threshold. She walked through the yard with a slow, cautious stride, a long forgotten feeling forming in her chest as she approached her son and the home he invited her into: Happiness that resulted in tears.

[adrrianraines]

choose me.

—chapter i. | chapter ii. | chapter iii.

genre: romance

fandom: playchoices: the royal romance

pairing: LiamxMC (Riley Brooks)

disclaimer:

characters used are owned rightfully by pixelberry. all rights reserved. this is a trr UA (universe alteration) original idea storyline. unlike an AU or Alternate Universe, Universe Alterations or UAs are set in the canon universe, but with "alterations" to accommodate the plot.

grammatical errors, misspellings & typographical errors that i might have overlooked are to be expected. – thank u for doing the proofreading with me, @bi-cookie 😘 really appreciate it. as always, special thanks love. ♡

taglist:

– of course, hmu if u wanna be tagged for an update! lovely people who wanna be tagged in this mess, thank you! ✨

@miss-raleigh-carrera @sunandlemons @wolfychoices @juminssi @onomatorina @ao719 @vaticanwaltz @texaskitten30 @princess-geek @janezillow @cordoniaqueensworld

Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker? — Garth Nix, Sabriel (Abhorsen, #1)

Breathe. Calm down. Concentrate.

A King would never falter in the face of adversaries. This is a minor setback. You can fix this.

Braving a face, Liam squared his shoulders, eyes fixated upon his reflection in the mirror. He stood still for a few minutes, trying to make sense of what was happening. Not less than 24 hours ago, he was at home, with a lovely pregnant wife, in Valtoria. And now, by some weird phenomena that he couldn’t fathom, he’s back at exactly where he was before he married his wife.

Riley. Somewhere in New York City.

Sighing, his hands made a quick work of his collar and then his jacket before he proceeded to present himself. Apparently, from what he’d gathered so far, he’s at the exact hotel where he and his friends stayed for vacation in America. Upon reaching the bedroom, he was welcomed by the sight of Drake sitting on one of the sofas, hands carelessly maneuvering the remote control in his hand. Maxwell was on the phone making a call just beside the large curtained windows.

Drake turned towards Liam, his scrutinizing gaze carefully studying the other. Liam assured his friend by giving a small and calm smile before clearing his throat to get Maxwell’s attention. Maxwell turned and raised his hand for a thumbs up while ending the call.

“Great! Tariq’s waiting for us downstairs. We’ll hit the restaurant first then tour New York after!” The Beaumont Lord grinned and strode towards the two men. He clapped his hand on Liam’s shoulders and smiled warmly. “I’ll make sure you’ll have the best night of your life, Liam! You’re in for a treat with the great Maxwell Beaumont’s Bachelor Paartttyy Express!”

Liam nodded, still unable to properly process the sudden turn of events. If he wants this figured out, he should gather all clues that would present themselves at his mercy then make use of it to his advantage.

Drake rolled his eyes at the other’s antics before propping himself up. “Guess this is the part where we enthusiastically shout ‘yay’ and hope to have a great time.”

Maxwell feigned an offended gasp. “You’re talking to the greatest entertainment master! Of course you’ll be in for a treat!”

Drake shrugged and moved towards the door. Liam followed silently while trying to recall how his first Bachelor Party went.

He met Riley at a small bar. She was working for that sudden stop they had at his last night in America.

Last Night... Therefore... He has a chance of meeting her tonight!

With a determined resolve, Liam figured a way of how to make sure he meets Riley and recreate the exact same moment of their first encounter. From what he gathered so far, if he was indeed jostled back, he needed to make sure everything played out exactly as what had transpired back then.

He halted, which made the two men stop and turn to look at him in question.

Somehow, they need to really make a stop at her bar. At all costs.

“Maxwell.” Liam’s deep baritone immediately made the other attentive. “I know you’ve got the entire night planned out and I entirely appreciate you for it. But perhaps, we can make a little detour towards a place I want to visit? If the itinerary so graciously allow...”

Drake crossed his arms, interested on how this could be handled. Clearly, he knew that Liam was not the one who would continually insist if the plan didn’t involve a certain matter at hand — considering how Maxwell behaves with regards to events he already have planned out.

Maxwell’s face fell, suddenly feeling sorry. “Aw, man. I know you wanna go to the Statue of Liberty but our time is really limited.”

Liam’s eyes perked up as he smiled. “Oh, no. That’s... not particularly what I have in mind.”

Because he already knew how the night would play out if he laid his cards right.

“This... is your last stop?” Maxwell looked incredulously over Liam, as if he had just knocked his head on the concrete and somehow survived but lost a few brain cells or two after.

“I believe it is a quaint little find.” He commented, his heart hammering loudly in quiet excitement. Riley was only a few meters and a few seconds away from him.

Maxwell grinned brightly. “Quaint? This is fantastic! How were you able to find it? Wait...” Then he eyed Liam suspiciously. “Are you after my own title as the world’s greatest party planner?”

Drake scoffed so hard he ended up coughing. Tariq only rolled his eyes. “I believe Prince Liam would never want such title.”

“Still, I’m impressed.” Drake smiled and nodded towards the entrance of the bar. “A greasy joint with local alcohol. Great find.”

Liam nodded, pleased with how he was able to control the events so far. He religiously followed Maxwell’s itinerary for the night, though he made a few arrangements of what was supposed to happen, such as suggesting the bar ahead of time. Still, he was glad they were able to find themselves outside Riley’s workplace. Just in time like before.

The guys went on ahead with excited chatters, still under the merriment from their previous clamoring adventures before they stumbled upon the bar. Liam remained outside for a bit just to gather his thoughts.

The very idea of the possibility of time travel tugged the back of his mind. After all, surely, he didn’t just dream a fantasy of his own wife and marriage. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be promising for the King of Cordonia to be suffering from such hallucinations. If there were any.

It was real. Even if nobody around him can vouch for it, he was certain. Everything was real.

However, when he finally entered the place, anticipating to see Riley waiting their group just like how it was supposed to be, he paused on his tracks.

The scenario played out differently than before.

“Daniel?” He whispered loud enough that the lad, who if he recalls correctly was Riley’s coworker, could hear. Daniel turned and raised a brow towards Liam, surprised at how he was able to know his name. Which, in due circumstances, sounded suspicious and alarming. Liam clammed his mouth shut but his mind was already in hyper drive. Millions of questions flooded like raging wildfire – and it wasn’t the most ideal set.

“Uh, how can I help you, er, sir...?” Daniel asked just as Maxwell moved to make space for Liam.

It took him quite a bit to process his thoughts but thankfully, he was able to gather himself. “My apologies. I’m with them.” Liam pointed towards their table as Daniel nodded slowly.

“Hey, lots of whiskey, alright?” Drake called in, drawing back Daniel’s attention. The waiter nodded then scrambled to immediately cater the order.

“I suppose a deluxe burger wouldn’t hurt...” Tariq’s disappointed voice said as he laid back against the withered leather couch they were sitting at. Liam gingerly walked over to the empty pace beside Maxwell and sat. Despite the lively chatters of his companions, his mind reeled back to the course of events.

Why was it not Riley who was waiting their table? He was certain that it should’ve been her. After all, how would they meet each other if she was not the one who took care of them? It was the key moment that should happen! Liam clenched his fists in frustration, unable to find answers for his questions.

“Liven up! It’s about damn time you all know how to live like a local.” Drake smirked just as the first round of whiskey were delivered.

Fried food and the faint smoke of something being grilled wafted in the air. Only men stood behind the bar counter.

She was nowhere to be found.

Disappointment and confusion infused in his system due to his inability to correctly follow through the course of events. The men were getting rowdy and they were getting more demanding. When alcohol finally hit his companions’ system and they were starting to loosen up, he stood and excused himself, in the guise of asking about their orders.

He needed to breathe. Without much of a second glance, he went straight towards the door. Liam stepped out to the crisp, chilly night breeze, taking in the glitz and glamour of the city lights before him. But somehow, with no clue to lead him, he felt more alone than when he first came to New York.

It was excruciating, to be feeling both complete helplessness and loneliness in a lively city. Without Riley by his side, with suddenly being thrown into such predicaments, with only so much that he can understand.

Just then, he heard movements from behind, followed by heavy footsteps and a grumbling voice. Alarmed because of his lack of security and in a completely foreign country, he turned to take a look, ready to take action. But to his surprise, it was... completely something else. Or someone.

Liam’s eyes widened in shock that almost knocked his winds out.

The stranger halted, trash dangling midair, mouth in a thin line. 

Liam’s heart pounded rabidly against his chest. It was as if everything zoned out around them.

There was nothing else but the faint sounds of footsteps from the street, a few car horns in the distance and the smooth breeze in the air.

“Riley...” Her named rolled off his tongue, the familiarity almost crushing his rib cage. It was a mix of being excited and being afraid. Riley stared back at him with no hint of recognition. At all. As if he was a stranger she never met in her entire life.

Riley seemed to be taken aback but was quick to recover. She settled the garbage down and cautiously inched away from Liam with her brows furrowed in suspicion.

“Who are you?” Her voice drawled. Liam almost choked. He did his very best to maintain a friendly, neutral expression but his resolve slipped almost immediately.

“I...” He began, only to nimbly locate the correct words he needed to use. He paused as he tried to gather himself. But before he could even speak—

“If you try something funny, I won’t hesitate—” She fired with vitality in her voice it almost made his heart do a somersault.

Liam wanted to laugh at his hasty and unplanned actions. Approach the woman who owns you completely as a stranger she never met in her life, just beside a local dumpster. Brilliant.

“My apologies. I...” Thinking of a quick excuse, he blurted out the very first thing that came to mind. “I was wondering if you needed any help?” He immediately regretted it.

Riley snorted in amusement and Liam wanted to mentally smack himself. Riley still has that effect on him. She was always able to surprise him in more ways than possible, which rendered him speechless half of the time. He’s still undeniably in awe.

“Yeah... right. How gentlemanly of you to offer that to a stranger you met at a dumpster.” Riley laughed and proceeded to throw the garbage bags in the bins. When she finished, she turned to meet Liam’s gaze squarely and crossed her arms over her chest. She raised a brow, as if asking him something.

He swallowed and smiled sheepishly. “Charmed to meet you, then?”

“I’m not sure how you know my name but we can talk out in the front if you’d like.” She gave him a half-smile that made her eyes twinkle.

Liam couldn’t suppress a smile of his own while he gently nodded in agreement. He felt giddy all over, as if his spirits were lifted up in the air.

“That sounds like a good plan.” He chimed.

She grinned. He returned the gesture like a lovesick boy.

“Meet me inside.��

“As you wish.”

And as he followed her inside, he momentarily looked at his reflection on the mirrored windows of the bar. He paused in his tracks, almost too tired of the many surprises he’s had.

For there was the very same rectangular-shaped bar just a few inches on top of his head, but somehow, unlike Maxwell’s and Drake’s, his was filled with a quarter of color red.

[jadeile-writes]

Fanfic Progress Update 46

Oh, hi! Is it Saturday already? Well, then! Fanfic Progress Update! Stay tuned to the end of this post for a spoiler-y glimpse into the next chapter of Adventure Gone Mini AND the next chapter of Shit, the Radio Demon is a part of my afterlife.

Current WIPs:

Adventure gone Mini

Fandom: Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild / The Minish Cap

Summary: Sidon is given his very own Sheikah Slate, the first replica Purah has managed to make, and sets out to travel with Link with the intention of registering warp points for convenient travel in the future. However, when a malfunction shrinks them down to the size of bugs, and they meet little people called the Minish, they have to change their plans from “fun adventuring” to “getting out of this mess”. Not that those two have to exclude one another. Link/Sidon.

Progress: Chapter 33 is the current latest chapter and was posted on 8th of January. Chapter 34 is halfway done and the scheduled posting date is 29th of January. This chapter is super fun to write, you guise.

I update this fic every three weeks on Wednesdays.

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Shit, the Radio Demon is a part of my afterlife

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Summary: Husk is just your everyday demon, minding his own business and living his afterlife mostly in self-caused misery. He’s been at it for about ten years when he rather abruptly finds himself on the Radio Demon’s radar. Suddenly his life becomes a lot more interesting. For fuck’s sake, he did not ask for this bullshit. Alastor/Husk.

Progress: Chapter 7 is the current latest chapter, and was published on 10th of January. Chapter 8 will be published on 14th of January, and chapter 9 on 17th of January. The rest of the chapters are done and waiting for their turn; the final count is 16.

I update this fic every Tuesday and Friday!

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Fine, be a part of my afterlife, jackass! (previously known as Afterlife the Complementary Text)

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Summary: This is not a stand-alone story! This is a compilation of additional “filler” chapters that go between the chapters of “Shit, the Radio Demon is a part of my afterlife”, starting from chapter 7. Read the main story up to that point or further before bothering with this one.

Every chapter of Afterlife is vital to the story: they bring the plot forward, each introduces a new development, each has a reason for being included. The chapters in this, however, are the ideas that couldn’t fit in Afterlife, because they don’t bring the story forward. So, additional fun Husk and Alastor content for this universe, because I feel like it!

Progress: Chapter 1 (or ch.7½ ) is finished and will be posted on 12th of January (Sunday. Tomorrow. Yay!) Chapter 2 (ch.7½ the second) is half done and I hope to get it done by 13th of January (Monday), but if not, then by either Wednesday or Thursday. Chapter 3 (ch.11½ ) is half done, no posting date yet. This fic is looking to be 7 chapters long at this time, but could still change.

So. This is happening now. I’ll be posting the chapters alongside the main story when we get to the point where they come in, assuming I’ve gotten them written out by that time. The updates will happen on the days I’m not posting anything else. Let’s see if I can manage this ^^;

Btw, there will be no sneak-peeks with this one. You’ll have to walk in blind each time ;)

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Drunk Alastor (workname)

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Summary (temporary): Roles are reversed in many ways when a drunk Alastor knocks on Husk’s door and has no intention of going to his own room for the night. And it only gets weirder from there, leaving Husk with a most unexpected arrangement with the Radio Demon. Alastor/Husk.

Progress: Okay. This was supposed to be a long oneshot, but the thing kept writing itself and then took an unexpected turn, I divided it into chapters, and now it has a plot and will be an actual chapter story. Chapters 1 and 2 are done. Chapter 3 has been started. The plan is to start posting this once Afterlife is done with, assuming that I have this mostly written by then.

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Other WIPs I’m not currently working on but intend to get back to someday:

PoE Drabbles (Pillars of Eternity)

DC Drabbles (Justice League)

Diaphanous Relations (Forgotten Realms, R.A. Salvatore’s books)

Rolling with it (Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)

Possibly worth staying for (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)

Radiohusk that makes me question my life choices (Hazbin Hotel)

—–

That’s it for the WIPs! Here are the promised sneak-peeks into Mini and Afterlife. (Note: the text may end up slightly different in the fics themselves due to more editing happening before publishing). Enjoy!

Mini

The Hero statue started to freeze over. A pained grunt sounded in the air, and Link recognized the voice as Sidon's. Hylia damn it! Link grabbed the only boot he had left and tossed it to the right, as far as he could. An ice ray followed immediately, and Link took the opportunity to jump to the left, leaving his shelter. He locked his sight on his enemy, who was looking confusedly in the wrong direction now.

Afterlife

A few years flew by and Husk's friendship with Alastor grew steadier now that he had accepted it and was more or less embracing it. He still made sure to grumble about Alastor being a thorn on his side almost every time they met, but he only meant it sometimes, when Alastor was actually being a fucking pain in the ass. Which he was often enough, and he knew it, too. The bastard did it on purpose more often than not, so he had Husk's complaints coming and deserved every single one of them. There were moments of real camaraderie mixed in as well. For one, Alastor cooked for him all the damn time, whether Husk needed it or not, or even expected it. Alastor simply loved to cook and seemed over the moon with joy at having another person eating the food he made, which also enabled him to cook more often. By now Husk was so used to jambalaya, gumbo, dirty rice, and all things crawfish and shrimp that he felt like he had eaten them all his life. Alastor loved baking as well, so Husk now always had beignets or pecan cake or pecan pie or pecan cookies or pecan anything really in his food stash if he needed something sweet. Alastor didn't much care for sweets, so Husk basically had to eat all of it whenever the guy had the sudden urge to bake. If Husk wasn't almost anorexic levels of skinny regardless of how little or much he ate, he would worry about getting fat with the way he was being fed nowadays.

That’s it this time. See you next Saturday!

AO3    FFnet    Purple Crayon    Ko-fi

[nancydrew65]

SKAM Austin Season 2 Episode 1 Recap

Faking a boyfriend means one thing, guys. A girl is not into you.

Basically Seniors

Great song to open up the season. ‘Lipgloss’ is very upbeat and catchy.

But I‘ll be honest. I seriously thought I was watching an ad for about 30 seconds before I realized it was the opening to the clip.

Tyler is gay! SKAM Austin finally confirmed our suspicions and I am so happy. Nice twist in having Tyler being the one kissing someone instead of Shay. Really highlights how they are both kind of the Isak character of this show (though I’m pretty sure it will be Shay who has the next season).

Aww. Zoya helping Jo with her sweater head scarf. They are so cute together.

So, Kelsey finally became a Kitten. Good for her, I guess. She actually looks really good; longer hair suits her.

I really like how they are introducing Grace (Noora) being on the newspaper early on. That will definitely add depth later in the season when she is asked to write the article.

It has been a whole year since the Daniel debacle instead of just a few months like it was in OG. I wonder how that will affect the story line. I can understand more how Kelsey might have developed another crush on Daniel seeing as him shaming her happened so much longer ago.

Grace invented a boyfriend to get Daniel off her case. Daniel, if a girl has to invent a boyfriend in order to avoid you, you should take a hint and leave her alone.

Damn, he just stares at Grace for an uncomfortably long time while taking the selfie with Kelsey.

Not A Good Person

I love how Grace is dancing while she cooks. Great continuation of that moment when she danced to cheer Megan up last season.

Wow, Marlon actually says something worthwhile and accurate!

And then Megan ruins it. I’m sorry, but I am going to off on a bit of a tangent here: Saying things like “He keeps on pursuing her because she doesn’t want to be left alone” is so dangerous. Because how does a guy know if the girl is secretly into him? He doesn’t. And assuming things like that is not right. It basically gives men permission to do whatever they want to a woman under the guise of her secretly wanting it. I’m not an idiot; I know SKAM Austin is trying to set up how Grace actually does secretly like Daniel, but that is not the case for every situation. And saying things like “Maybe she doesn’t want to be left alone” as a broad generalization is very problematic. It promotes a male centered rape culture. It is a less harsh way of saying “She deserved to get raped because she was wearing revealing clothes” or saying “She wanted it, so it is OK.” And it is very much not OK. Whew, sorry. Just had to get that off my chest. I know SKAM Austin probably didn’t mean it like that, but putting that line into a season that will most likely deal with sexual assault was a poor choice on their part.

I got so excited that Grace might actually tell Kelsey what has been going on. Yeah, it would be a harsh blow, but it is way better than continuing to lie and deceive her. WHY did Megan advise Grace to not tell Kelsey about Daniel texting her????? It feels like Megan is giving some pretty shitty advice this season.

Ahhhh, Eskild’s a woman! I think her name is Eve. I don’t know why I didn’t realize this before. I mean, Shay is Isak. And Eskild was basically a fellow gay man mentor to Isak, so it makes sense they would change him into a lesbian in this remake.

Oh, and Grace was smiling when she saw those texts from Daniel. I honestly don’t know why. He was still a dick when we last saw him. Were they texting for the whole year, though?

Mostly Naked

Well, I really liked how they included a St. Patrick’s Day parade/festival into the show as that is most definitely a big thing in the U.S.

I kind of feel that Megan is way more into Marlon than previous Evas have been towards their respective Jonas’s. What with that tongue line in Clip 1 and her barging in on Marlon and that girl talking, that’s the vibe I get.

I know people are finding Kelsey really annoying this season and while I do agree some of her lines are outrageous (accusing Grace of not caring about her friends, really?), I can’t help but like her. She is just so cute!

Thank you, Zoya! She tried to shut Kelsey’s crush down so fast. If only she were successful. Sigh. On that note, I am already liking Zoya way more. Last season I thought she came off as rather abrasive without as much of Sana’s soft side. I hope they explore this soft side of Zoya more this season. I could find myself really enjoying a season of her.

Know-It-All

More Poonam! Yay!!! I love her so much. Her deadpan line about not wanting to associate with Grace was EVERYTHING.

Oh, Kelsey, why do you have these hopeless fantasies about Daniel. I feel so bad for her already.

David already seems cool. The brief moment when you thought he could be a potential love interest for Kelsey, and the crushing disappointment when you realized he was with Shay. Noooo! Though since next season, Shay will most likely come out as lesbian, we might see David become a love interest for Kelsey. Wasn’t the actor who played Magnus in OG named David? Please let this happen. Kelsey deserves a nice guy in her life who shares her love of ‘Hamilton’.

Who Is He?

I am literally Eve when anyone is baking cookies. I am really digging Eve so far. She seems way more calm and chill than other versions of Eskild. (I am looking at you, Mika from SKAM France).

‘Daniel Williamson’. Could you get a boy’s name that sound whiter?

Hmm, I think it is interesting how they introduced Daniel’s sister so early. I hope they dig into his backstory a bit more, you know, how he was affected by her death instead of just glossing over it like they did in OG. I think in OG they actually mentioned that his sister died in a car accident. I hope SKAM Austin isn’t as explicit, that way it comes as more of a shock later on.

Messed Up

Jo talking lovingly about her unibrow is all I want in life.

Oh, no. Kelsey exercising and refusing food? Not a good sign. I guess they are going to go into the eating disorder storyline. Also, how are beans bad for you?

Aw, Grace made the nachos with gluten-free chips specifically for Kelsey. And then offered to cook something else for Kelsey. If only Kelsey had taken her up on that offer.

Daniel calls Kelsey to get to Grace. Grace using the pre-calc excuse is way more believable than saying he needed someone’s number. Also, plenty of seniors take pre-calc. And not because they are bad at math.

I like that Daniel admitted his actions were messed up. BUT, dude, if you know what you are doing is messed up, then don’t do it. LEAVE GRACE ALONE! Hopefully, this admission of his points to him being less of a dick than William was, but we’ll see how the rest of the season plays out.

General Thoughts

This is the first season of any version of SKAM that I have watched live and it is a wild experience. I am on the edge of my seat, constantly checking to see if a new clip has come out. I now definitely understand how SKAM got so popular and addictive when it first aired. I thought this was a pretty strong start to the season. They were a few tweaks that really worked well, like Tyler’s confirmation of being gay (or bi, who knows?) and Eskild’s character being a woman. All in all, I think this remake has a very different vibe from OG Skam and I am excited to see where it heads.