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twinkle-320 · 4 years ago

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Mommy-to-be

Pairing: Drake x MC (Riley Nevin Walker)

A/N: I wrote this for something fun and lighthearted. I am currently working on a TRR AU that has me stuck and feeling sad so I needed some fluff in my life. Baby showers are perfect for fluff.

Warnings: Language

Word Count: 2513

Tag list: @kingliam2019 @batgirlassociationofgothamcity (If you only wanted to be tagged for mood boards, let me know.)

Rain pelted against the glass ceiling of the solarium in Valtoria, where Riley sat surrounded by her friends trying to keep up with their chatter.

“It should definitely be an apple theme,” Hana said in her usual calm, gentle tone.

“Oh please,” Olivia scoffed. “Practically every woman in Cordonia has a ridiculous apple themed baby shower. At least try to be original.”

“Well, do you have any ideas?”

“I think...”

“Don’t say knives,” Savannah interjected.

“Don’t be such a simpleton. I was going to say axes...you could make that work with apples if you must.”

“How about we ask Riley what she wants...it’s her shower,” Savannah suggested.

All eyes turned to Riley, who was staring out at the rain, lost in thought. Olivia snapped her fingers practically right in Riley’s face. “Riley...earth to Riley...are you still with us or did the baby get the last of your brain?”

“Hmm...what? I’m sorry, what were you asking?”

“Themes,” Hana said. “For your shower.”

“Yes, because that’s what good ‘friends’ do, we ask you to plan your own shower,” Olivia quipped.

“Oh, umm...well, I love Disney,” Riley said.

Olivia looked at her disgusted. “Disney? That god awful amusement park with the oversized rat and screaming demon children? Sure, that would definitely be better than axes.”

Savannah rolled her eyes at Olivia. “Disney could be cute and if Riley likes it, that’s what important.”

“Guys, I’ll be fine with any theme you want, really. My only request is that we have games.”

“You Americans and your games,” Olivia scoffed.

“Games and Disney. Don’t worry, Riley...we’ve got this. It will be perfect,” Hana assured her.

—————————

As Riley inched closer and closer to her October due date, the day of her shower finally arrived. Everything had been planned with her knowledge so she could be prepared. It wouldn’t due to have a Duchess show up to her own shower in leggings and a hoodie. Select members of the press would be in attendance and a photo shoot was planned. Hana had helped Riley select an elegant, ivory lace maxi dress that perfectly hugged her bump. Her hair cascaded down her back in elegant waves and she wore rose gold flip flops to accommodate her swollen feet.

When Riley stepped into the gardens behind the estate, she was in awe. Soft pastels of pink, blue, green, and yellow accented the clean white color pallet. There was a giant balloon arch featuring all the colors set up over the dessert table. Hana had worked with a local baker on not one, but two perfect cakes. One was a two-tier cake in soft pinks and blues with Mickey and Minnie accents. The other was a nod to Riley’s favorite princess; a small replica of Cinderella’s coach also done in pink and blue. Elements of Disney were subtle and tasteful including Mickey silhouettes made of branches, vines, and flowers. Each table was named after a Disney character and featured lush centerpieces with hidden Mickey’s, lanterns with glittery rose gold Mickey heads hand-painted on the glass, and a Disney story book for those at the table to sign as a guest book. With over twenty tables, all the books would be the perfect start to a baby library. Tears sprang to her eyes as she took in the beautiful work her friends had done. All that was needed now was for the guests to arrive.

—————————

Drake spent the morning working in the nursery away from the hustle and bustle of party set-up. Once her classes had wrapped for the semester, Riley finally settled on decor and gave Drake a to do list a mile long. Rustic woodland animals was the chosen theme. Riley thought it would be easy to add to after the baby arrived; floral elements if it was a girl or more woodsy elements if it was a boy. The walls were a soft ecru with an accent wall done in reclaimed barn wood. When Drake finished assembling the simple white crib Riley had chosen, he moved it into position against the wood wall and admired his efforts. In his pocket, his phone chimed, alerting him it was time to get ready for the party.

Once he was showered and changed, he headed to the gardens and found Riley standing over the dessert table. Sneaking up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her and her growing belly. “Lay off the cookies, Nevin. Those are for the guests.”

Riley jumped and giggled. “Cookies weren’t my idea, Drake...Bean wants one.”

“Just like Bean wanted ice cream and s’mores last night?”

Riley turned in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. “This little one has a sweet tooth, what can I say.”

“Like mama, like baby,” Drake laughed. “So, this looks pretty awesome out here,” he said, turning to take in the set-up.

“Right?!?” Riley exclaimed. “It’s fucking amazing.”

“Duchess Riley...language!”

Riley turned in the direction of the voice scolding her and wasn’t surprised to see Bertrand and Savannah approaching with their arms full of gifts.

“Holy shit guys, did you buy out the store?”

“You just can’t stop yourself, can you?” Bertrand asked.

Riley shrugged. “Nope. And no one’s here yet to hear me so stop fretting, Bertrand. Drake, don’t just stand there...help your sister,” she said, nudging him forward. Once the gifts were safely placed on the gift table, the group stood together chatting as other guests slowly started arriving.

“You and Hana did an amazing job,” Riley said to a beaming Savannah.

“I thought Liv helped too?” Drake asked.

“She did...a little,” Savannah replied.

Riley laughed. “Should I be looking for hidden daggers in addition to the hidden Mickey’s?”

“No, we managed to keep daggers out of the decor. She had proposed a sword wielding Mickey ice sculpture but thankfully the sculptor refused for trademark reasons. We ended up putting her in charge of the food.”

“Great,” Drake groaned. “Can’t wait to see what kind of fancy crap she planned.”

Bertrand groaned and shook his head, looking like his head was about to explode. Savannah wisely took his hand and led him away to their table.

Ana de Luca quickly took their place at the happy couple’s side and ushered them deeper in to the garden for a quick photo shoot and interview before the festivities began. Riley was able to approve the digital proofs on the spot and an elegant black and white of her cradling her belly was chosen for the Trend cover.

When they arrived back at the party, nearly all the guests had arrived and things were in full swing. Drake was pleasantly surprised to see the buffet spread of comfort foods. There was a carving station with whole roasted chickens and herb crusted filet, and sides of garlic mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and steamed vegetables. Olivia’s personal touch was obvious due to the chefs wielding larger than necessary ornate knives for carving.

Hana was the perfect hostess, keeping things orderly as each table took their turn through the buffet. As guests filled their plates, she announced the first game...a Disney match game matching Disney characters to their parents. There was a print out at each place setting and guests could complete it at their leisure to turn in by the end of the meal.

Riley had taken a plate with a little bit of everything and promptly ignored it while she turned to the game with hyper focus.

“Nevin...are you gonna eat?”

“Huh...oh, yeah, I will. I just wanna get this done first.”

“Are you even allowed to play the games at your own shower?”

“Of course I am, silly!”

When the meal was over, Hana had everyones game sheet and tallied the answers. “And the winner is...Duchess Riley,” she announced to the crowd.

Most in attendance cheered or applauded politely but Riley heard the groans among her friends at her table.

Guests took the opportunity to mingle while Hana got set-up for baby shower bingo. Mingling was the perfect opportunity for the ongoing game of “Don’t say baby”. Each guest was given three clothes pins when they arrived. If they said the word baby at any point in a conversation, someone could steal one of their pins. Whoever had the most pins at the end would win a prize.

When Hana called for everyone to take their seats, Riley returned to her table with at least twenty-five pins clipped to the ruffle of her dress. Savannah and Maxwell sat giggling while Olivia rolled her eyes. “Really, Riley...you can’t be serious? You’re competitive nature is occasionally admirable but this is bordering on ridiculous,” Olivia sneered.

“What?” Riley said sheepishly. “People can’t help saying baby to the pregnant lady, that’s not my fault!”

“I somehow doubt it was as simple as that.”

“Well, I may have practiced saying nothing but Bean or infant for the last week but still...I won these pins fair and square.”

After everyone had a chance to fill out their bingo boards with baby items, Hana began calling out items at random. It only took seven items before Riley was on her feet, holding her belly while she jumped up and down yelling ‘bingo’. The groans that had been contained to her friends earlier now rippled through the other guests. Olivia forcefully grabbed the bingo board as Hana made her way to the table.

“Riley...I um...I think maybe you should give someone else a chance to win the game prizes,” Hana whispered hesitantly.

“But...”

“Blossom, Hana’s right,” Max said gently.

“For once, I agree with these fools,” Olivia interjected, still clutching Riley’s game board.

Riley pouted as Drake put a comforting arm around her shoulders. “You and Bean get to leave with all the presents, let the guests have the prizes, Nevin.”

“Ok, fine,” she conceded.

Hana turned back to the crowd. “Duchess Riley has graciously forfeited her win so we’ll continue with this round.”

Two items later, Liam stood and called out Bingo.

“You’re welcome,” Riley whispered as Hana handed Liam one of the bottles of whiskey Drake had selected as ‘manly’ prizes. Liam smiled at her affectionately and laughed.

Two rounds later, Kiara and Emmeline had each won a prize and Hana announced it was time for presents.

Riley sat on a throne decorated with vines and flowers with gifts piled all around her. She took care to read each card and announce the gift giver and show her appreciation. There was everything from the simple: blankets, layettes, and plush toys; to the extravagant: tiaras, crowns, scepters, and crystal rattles. It felt endless and overwhelming in the best way possible. Riley was sure she had opened something from everyone in attendance but there was still a large pile unopened.

“These are from your family,” Hana explained. “Since they’re visiting when the baby arrives, they couldn’t make it today but they sent these over.”

Riley resisted the urge to steal one of Hana’s pins as she smiled gratefully at her. Her heart swelled with each gift she opened; her family knew her so well. There was a baby book that matched her woodland theme that had pages already filled in for her side of the family tree, complete with photos and memories about her mom, whom Bean would only know through stories. Riley felt the tears pricking at her eyes and they finally broke free when she opened a blanket that her dad had custom made out of some of her mom’s clothes. He took care to chose the softest sweaters in colors that would compliment the nursery. It was the closest Bean would come to feeling the embrace of their grandmother and it took everything in Riley not to ugly cry.

After a minute to compose herself, she moved on to the next gift. It was from Drew. The card said that he wanted to get something just for her because he knew that Bean would be getting more than enough. When Riley opened the box she began to giggle through her tears; it was just the humor that she needed.

“What is it?” Drake asked.

“I’m not sure I should show it to everyone,” Riley laughed. “There doesn’t need to be a picture of this in Trend.”

“Just show us then, Blossom.”

Riley’s friends moved behind her and she lifted out a t-shirt with the front facing away from the guests. It was red with short sleeves and in bold white print it read ‘I’m a drop the F-bomb kind of Mom’.

There was laughter among her friends as Liam said, “Well your brother certainly seems to know you well.”

“Is that really the kind of thing you should be advertising?” Hana gasped.

“I see no problem with it,” Olivia stated matter-of-factly.

“It’s definitely funny, but Nevin’s gonna be watching her language once Bean arrives.”

Riley dropped the shirt and turned to Drake with her mouth agape. “Do you know me at all?” she exclaimed.

“Come on, Nevin. You don’t want him or her copying you.”

“Bean will just have to learn what I did growing up...do as I say, not as I do; no copying Mommy.”

“I hope its that easy, Nevin.”

“It will be,” she assured him as she pulled him down for a kiss.

With the last of the presents opened, guests were invited to enjoy the dessert table and the party began to wind down. Gladys and a few members of the staff started taking the presents in to the nursery and Riley made a beeline for the cookies she had been eyeing.

As the sun started to get low in the sky, they said their goodbyes and made their way into the estate.

“Why don’t you go up and get comfortable...I’ll make us some popcorn and we’ll watch a movie,” Drake suggested.

“Sounds perfect.”

When Drake finally got upstairs, he found Riley standing in the doorway of the nursery, clutching the blanket from her dad to her chest. “You okay, Nevin?”

Riley nodded and wiped away a stray tear. “I just can’t wait to hold our baby, Drake, and...and I hope I’m a good mom.”

“You’re gonna be a great mom, Nevin. An amazing fucking mom.”

Riley turned to him with a big smile on her face. “Ssshhhh, language Daddy.”

“You’re a piece of work.”

“I am,” she shrugged. “But you love it.”

“Damn right, I do,” he said as he pulled her into a passionate kiss and guided her to their room.

Exhaustion took over and Riley was a sleep in minutes. Drake ate the popcorn and watched Riley’s chest gently rise and fall as he rubbed her belly. “Hurry up and get here Bean, we can’t wait to meet you.”

The once grumpy commoner felt the last of his walls break down when his loving words were rewarded with a kick. Everything he never knew he wanted was right there in his arms...a family of his own to love and protect; all because he walked into her bar.

#drake x mc #trh #trh baby #trr mc #fluff #just for fun

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flutistbyday-1 · 5 years ago

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Maxwell to the Rescue

Wacky Drabble #29

I am participating in @emceesynonymroll ‘s Wacky Drabble prompts. Prompt #29 is “How many [food item] did you eat today?” and will appear in bold.Book: The Royal Heir, slightly AU

Liam, Maxwell, and MC

Pairing Liam x MC

All characters belong to Pixelberry!

Hope you like it!

-Red

Word count: 665

Riley Brooks was heavily pregnant. The morning sickness had subsided after 20 long, grueling weeks, and she was now able to enjoy food. Not three days after the morning sickness was gone, craving after craving commanded the Queen’s every thought. Today’s craving? Cronuts.

Liam was busy with meeting after meeting today; it was the only thing Riley hated about being a Queen.

She found that with the absence of morning sickness that tiredness took its place just as much as the cravings did. Riley would fall asleep at council meetings, during dinner, and sometimes in the shower. Liam insisted she only attend one meeting a day, if she could handle it. She tried to fight it, but after she found herself being placed into bed by a bemused Bastien for the third time that week, she gave up. Dr. Mara caught wind and ordered bed rest for Riley— at least 18 hours a day.

Riley’s eyebrows furrowed. She was hungry, bed bound by a King and a Doctor, and alone in her quarters. Her lips pursed.

“Hmph,” she growled at nothing in particular. She rubbed her stomach. The Royal Heir needed a cronut.

“Oh, I know!” She exclaimed.

Riley picked up her phone and called Maxwell.

“Hey, Little Blossom. What’s up?”

“Maxwell, I need cronuts,” Riley whined. “I’m not supposed to get out of bed and—” Riley laid it on thick “—I’m going to die if I can’t get any!” She whimpered for good measure.

“I’ll be right there!” Maxwell cried.

Riley was sure that Maxwell thought she was dying. Oh, well.

Liam finally came home at 7:30, way past what could be considered a decent hour for supper. He was hopeful Riley had waited for him, though. He was not prepared for the sight in front of him, however, when he stepped into the living room.

Riley was passed out cold on the couch, pastry boxes scattered everywhere. Her face was covered in icing and she was smiling in her sleep. She also had a cronut in one of her hands, grasping it to her chest. She looked like a giant three-year-old.

The sight in front of Liam made him laugh, loudly. How his wife did anything while obeying his rules never ceased to amaze him. She had a whole kingdom wrapped around her finger. Hell, he wouldn’t be surprised if Ana De Luca delivered the cronuts. His laugh woke Riley.

She beamed up at him, momentarily forgetting the crime scene around her. “Hi, Liam.”

“Hello, my love,” Liam responded as he made his way to Riley before kissing her on the forehead. “How are you feeling?” He said as he took Riley’s hand and pulled out a cronut.

Riley smiled sheepishly.

This made Liam laugh again, although he reserved from being boisterous this time.

Maxwell entered the room just then. “Liam! Glad to see you’re home.” He plopped down in a chair after removing a pastry box.

“Maxwell.”

Liam scanned the room and saw five boxes.

“Just how many cronuts did you eat today, Riley?” Liam looked at his wife, half amazed and half confused.

Riley blushed. “I don’t know, honestly. I lost count after twelve,” she admitted, lowering her gaze.

Liam looked at Maxwell expectantly.

“Well, I got five dozen, that’s 60. I had six... and there’s—” Maxwell deftly went about the room, counting the pastries, “—24 left. Jesus, Riley! You had 30?” He half accused, half asked.

Liam looked at Riley and she looked embarrassed and like she had been caught stealing out of the cookie jar.

“It was the only thing I could keep down,” she admitted, agrined.

Liam looked at his now petulant wife and couldn’t help but smile. “Ah, well. Then there is nothing to be ashamed about, Riley.” He kissed her glaze-covered lips and licked them impishly.

�� She giggled and pushed him off playfully. “Will you go grab me a washcloth, please?”

Liam rose dutifully, but when he returned, Riley was once again out cold.

#trr mc x liam #trr #trr fanfic #trh #trh liam #trh liam x mc #liam rys #king liam #trr liam #trr mc #trr maxwell #maxwell beaumont #riley brooks #liam x riley #queen riley #choices #pixelberry #wacky drabbles

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zaffrenotes · 5 years ago

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Thoughts on The Royal Heir, Chapter 14 - The Announcement

Alternate Title: DOT DOT DOT (I got nothin right now)

Word Count: +6000 you know me. I can’t shut up.

Points are arbitrary and happen at random. Recap/personal thoughts after the point review of the chapter. TL;DR version – press statements and pregnancy portraits and lets-rush-the-next-couple-of-months-because-we-were-stupid-and-wasted-too-much-time-in-Texas-but-now-we’re-in-a-hole-and-can’t-get-out (it’s time for fix it fanfic where we write about all those little pregnancy moments since there’s probably 3 or 4 chapters left before MC pops this kid out). PS Eleanor was pregnant with a second child!

Things that will be covered in this post:

Alliance responses aimed at the kingdoms that keep pushing for the stupid baby matchmaking subplot

Liam should take one of those Ancestry DNA tests…umm…for reasons 👀

Eleanor and Jackson and the shitstorm of conspiracy theories that popped up as a result (yo – Liam and Drake aren’t related)

How does Madeleine know so much about Eleanor’s pregnancy/nausea remedies and why is she looking out for MC more than usual?

I’m putting a cut here to minimize the length of this post if you don’t want to read this, and feel free to add #ZaffEssays and #ZaffDigsDeep to your filtered tags so you don’t see this or future posts from me.

I sourced Drake/Hana playthroughs from BizzysChoices and Abhirio on YouTube, respectively.

Normal text = Liam route | Italics = Drake/Hana/Maxwell route | Bold = applies to any LI/story as a whole

-3 Frik, Frack, and Crapeleine all want to share the baby news. NO THANK YOU. -1 MC, just because Liam/your friends tell you to celebrate the news, doesn’t mean you can’t still be upset -1 not-Wayne reporter is an idiot +1 CBC Don at least knows about pregnancy timelines *side eye to PB* -1 Being a WEEK pregnant…oh MC, you’re an idiot too +1 At least we can throw a little shade at Crapeleine for setting this whole stupid thing up before we confirmed anything with a doctor +1 [Liam] and his protective embraces and being super happy 0 Marriage alliances are ridiculous, oh Cordonia with its importance of the social season – at least social season has consenting adults for your matchmaking ceremony -3 WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE APPOINTED HEIR WILL HOLD A STRONGER CLAIM TO THE THRONE THAN YOUR BIOLOGICAL CHILD, LIAM??? SOMEONE NEEDS TO REWRITE THIS LAW! 0 Taking bets that whatever Penelope designs for the baby, the baby WILL end up looking like a poodle +1 [Liam] smiling and hugging Regina; he still cares for his stepmother, after all; she’s warm enough to MC to offer help in any way should they need it 0 GET AWAY, Barto. Go away with the reporters and set up your exclusive interview away from us +1 Pregnancy photoshoot +1 [Liam] not breaking eye contact as he strips in the boutique for MC +1 [Hana] flirting with MC as they change; touches up her makeup and they flirt about lipstick kisses +1 Ana de Luca’s set up in the throne room to take the photo +1 [Liam] throne pose is too stiff; Liam offers MC a hand as they step down and exude warmth and love and wants to show the world HE’S IN LOVE and this union and baby aren’t obligations to him – they are his FOREVER. 0 [Liam] Ana says the heir will be in good hands +1 [Drake] is okay with dressing up if it means MC smiles; they take the sign with them when the shoot ends, lol 0 [Hana] keeps sidelining herself and MC reminds her they’re in this together +1 [Drake/Hana] Ana says the heir will be welcomed with a lot of love/in a loving home +1 LI kneels and kisses The Belly when they’re alone in the throne room -1 We have to deal with a pregnancy montage because they’re running out of chapters +1 [Liam] Drake running off to get ice cream is actually really sweet and I love the Mallow Man for that -1 [Drake Hana Maxwell] Why does Liam only mention the chicken soup thing if you’re not married to him? Queen Trina wants that recipe to feel better, yo! TELL YOUR WIFE. +1 Hana makes a baby playlist and records a few tracks herself but not if she’s your wife +1 Maxwell offers to be MC’s vicarious life, lol doing all the things for MC that she can’t do while pregnant 0 Crapeleine offers a Cordonian Ruby – to help with nausea, which actually works, and she’s trying to be nicer to MC right now. It’s weird. +1 Olivia is (permanently? While we’re in Cordonia? And from now on???) our personal security while MC goes to a doctor’s appointment 0 WHO IS THIS RAY DUDE AND WHY IS HE DRESSED EXACTLY LIKE OLIVIA??? +1 Olivia gives us a dagger to keep in MC’s purse. I’m reminded of @dcbbw ‘s Riley and her penchant for straight razors, lol 0 Liam accompanies the doctor’s appointment even though uh… yeah okay, he’s invested in MC’s baby but this feels odd +1 Dr. Ramirez drops another remedy for morning sickness/nausea – Queen Eleanor used to drink apple tea…BUT HOW WOULD SHE KNOW THAT 0 [Liam] because LIAM SURE AS HELL DIDN’T KNOW RAMIREZ WAS HIS MOTHER’S DOCTOR and Eleanor said she had an easy pregnancy (perhaps only with Liam but not her secret second baby) +1 [Drake Hana Maxwell] Olivia joins Liam and asks if she needs to stab anyone. Never change, Olivia! +1 bb Liv and bb Drake playing knights and dragons together while they wait for Liam to finish his “lessons” and Drake-gon is cute as Dom’s dragon form from TC&TF +1 Liv tries to kick dead Drake-gon or hop on his back if she’s tamed him with food, lol +1 bb Liam is empathetic even as a tot, worried about Eleanor feeling ill 0 Jackson interrupts to talk to Eleanor while Constantine isn’t around in an effort to keep her and her family safe (from Constantine or with Constantine??) 0 Eleanor drops the Hyperemesis Gravidarium clue, noting “it’s nothing” but IT SO IS SOMETHING 0 Liv’s hit with a panic attack when she sees Eleanor hug Liam; is this why she doesn’t like hugging people? Because it’s too painful to think about hugs from her mother that she’ll never get? +1 Liam can tell she’s more upset than she lets on and deflects +1 MC, Olivia, Liam, (and LI if it’s not Liam) come to the conclusion that Eleanor was pregnant with a second child… 0 …so some portion of what’s left of this book or part of book 2 will be spent on trying to figure out who knew she was pregnant, how exactly she died, and what happened to her baby +1 HELLO BABY +1 LIs call the baby LITTLE ONE AND I CANNOT +2 [Liam] FINALLY CRIES SOME HAPPY TEARS -1 not-Wayne shows up, pretending to be an orderly, to get a photo of the sonogram +1 LI goes full protective parent mode, lunging for not-Wayne and chases after him

T O T A L 17 points for this chapter with Liam as your spouse 10 points for this chapter with Drake/Hana/Maxwell as your spouse

DRESS FOR THE PRESS: Press conference is still on, much to our dismay. Frik and Frack (Kiara and Penelope) revert to their ‘yes ma’am’ roles, agreeing with Madeleine that news of MC’s pregnancy should be shared right away, even though it’s been less than 24 hours since MC figured it out and not one single medical professional has examined MC to make sure things are all well and good. We’re hit with the option to share the news / hope the world is ready for the baby / HOPE TO HAVE KEPT THE NEWS QUIET A LITTLE LONGER – and I’m not even bothering to go over the first two options.

Yes, MC’s taken on a very public role. Yes, she’s in a position of power, where all her actions are now scrutinized by the people in her duchy/kingdom, where details of her life will become part of public consumption even faster than the whole sordid ordeal with Tariq. But she is still a PERSON, not some creature that just happens to be carrying a royal heir. At least MC can show concern with the last response, reminding everyone that it’s early in the pregnancy (she’s not even sure how far along she is, thanks to the ridiculous answer in a bit) and literally anything could go wrong.

LI Liam tries to comfort his queen, reminding her of the exact public lifestyle she’s now got to get used to as a price of being a royal, but assures her that he’ll help her get through it. With option 3 in Drake’s route, Maxwell asks MC if it’s a little early to start worrying even though they all have her back, and they should focus on celebrating the news, and MC switches gears, somehow forgetting her concerns.

Consolation prize is MC gets to choose where to deliver the news – options being the ballroom (where all bad things happen), on the palace grounds in the fresh air, or the royal gardens. With the grounds/gardens option, Madeleine hopes the weather will cooperate and—when has it ever been uncooperative, Maddy? It’s Always Sunny In Cordonia!

MC gets to choose how to make an entrance as well – dancing to vocals / mega regal / with our friends – regal entrance spares no detail of pomp and circumstance, making use of a royal motorcade; with your friends leads to Maxwell being worried about stealing the spotlight, but MC says she wants to celebrate with her friends by her side. First diamond option of the chapter is a clothing buy-in – I wasn’t a fan of the red chiffon dress (and Trina would prefer to reuse outfits whenever possible, plus I really liked that teal dress from the rehearsal dinner) but I’m sure it earned points with your LI. MC also gets the option to add a tiara.

LI Liam changes into his formal tux before the plane lands, while the other LIs change (Drake in his grey suit, Hana in her black dress). Depending on where you chose to deliver the press conference, there’s a bit where Madeleine leads everyone to the location. Shady New Reporter aka OH Wayne thinks MC is already supposed to be sporting some kind of baby bump even though WE’VE ONLY BEEN GONE A WEEK and friggin Donnie Brine is the logical one in this scene, telling not-Wayne that he needs to review pregnancy timelines if he’s going to continue covering Babywatch.

I picked Liam, in the gardens, with our friends (Clue! lol) so MC took LI Liam’s hand and gestured to their friends to follow them to the front of the crowd, and MC squeezes Liam’s hand before addressing the press and citizens. MC then has to choose between announcing LI and I are expecting an heir / I BE PREGNANT – both responses earn ecstatic cheers from the crowd, where Samir (Them) and Donnie (CBC) high-five each other, and Ana de Luca wipes away a tear without smudging her eyeliner. If you buy the dress, Ana approves of the outfit before asking how far along MC is, she responds with a week and—BABY GIRL, A WEEK? A WEEK?!? NO. Even CBC Donnie is all “uhh, that’s really early to be sharing with us…”

MC can respond with we wanted to tell the people as soon as we knew / I KNOW but Maddy lacks social skills and shouldn’t be given access to technology I would’ve preferred to wait / there’s too much stigma about miscarriages. You know which response I chose; if I can be petty at Maddy in front of others, I WILL. Homeslice just shrugged at MC in response, before she tells the press that due to speculation and Cordonia scoping out MC’s uterus anyway, the secret wouldn’t have lasted long. LI Liam puts a protective arm around MC and adds that they have the best doctors that couldn’t properly diagnose ol’ Barto for the better part of a decade looking out for MC and their baby. Liam is happier than he ever thought he’d be, excited at the thought of getting to meet their child. With the first answer, MC says they can’t predict the future, but they can keep the people informed, knowing how important the baby is to the kingdom (and Drake adds the bit about the doctors). Drake thought he’d be nervous with the news, but he can’t wait to show their kid the world. Hana’s excited and proud to be on this journey with her wife.

Ana segues to the next topic – baby betrothals and alliances based on outdated matchmaking rather than ACTUAL politics and economics. When asked what MC/LI hopes to gain from said bizarre alliance, MC can choose from strength / understanding / Cordonia first. With strength, MC reminds everyone of Cordonia’s recent run of bad luck, and *if* a treaty gets signed, the other party needs to be willing to help defend Cordonia; with understanding, MC first reminds everyone that there’s no place like Cordonia, and she’d only consider signing an agreement with someone who respects and appreciates Cordonia as well. With the “Cordonia first” response, MC’s sprite switches to angry/determined face and she says (Cordonia) won’t give anything up without getting something in return.

The alliance response poses interesting angles to the other kingdoms - obviously the strength response caters to Auvernal and its army; the understanding response caters towards Monterisso to seek an even playing field, since we don’t know much about the kingdom or it’s shady ass queen, Amalas. Cordonia first response is both defensive and offensive - MC implies they won’t back down and an alliance will need to benefit both countries equally.

If you’re not married to Liam, Samir poses an additional question to the King, regarding the status of MC x LI’s heir if and when Liam marries and has a child of his own. While Liam doesn’t anticipate that happening anytime soon – this is less “Liam giving up on the idea of love and he’s pining after MC” and more “the man has had a YEAR falling in love, faking an engagement, suitor scandal, becoming king, losing his father, getting rejected by the woman he loves and having to watch her marry someone else and THEN saving their collective asses from assassins and taking down an attempted coup” so let the man put his dating life on hold for a hot minute – he reminds everyone that appointing an heir is very serious business. Here’s the part that gets wonky for me – Cordonian law states the appointed heir would still hold rank over Liam’s future biological child. I BEG YOUR PARDON, YOUR MAJESTY WUT.

I can see why such a law would have been written – if, for some reason, a reigning king and his queen weren’t able to have children of their own, they would need to appoint someone as heir to the throne to keep someone like Anton from trying to steal it outright, or another kingdom to swoop in and take over the land without a ruler. It makes me wonder how much Rys blood is now in Liam’s bloodline – if, somewhere between Kenna’s line and Constantine… they had to break the bloodline due to a similar situation. What if Liam isn’t as royal as he thinks he is???

So. There’s that to chew on. Liam ends the press conference so MC can recover from traveling and the crowd slowly disperses. Duke Landon congratulates the couple, and Penelope offers to design something for the baby, while Kiara says she’ll try to keep Pen from using too many dog themes. Godfrey offers his respects on behalf of Fydelia (but that’s Adelaide’s duchy, not his) but not without adding something negative – taking a dig at Portavira’s “undignified” hypothetical attire. Queen Mother Regina appears to offer her congratulations, and LI Liam smiles and hugs her (non-Liam route and he’s nowhere to be seen); MC can hug her / nod politely – with the hug, Regina’s caught off guard but returns the gesture; nod politely and Regina curtsies. The only insight to royal duties we see is Regina’s been dealing with paperwork and charities. She tells MC and LI Liam that they need only ask for any kind of help from her, should they need it. Non-Liam route, she asks the couple to call her Regina rather than Your Majesty, and offers her help whenever they need it.

aaaaaaand then Barto appears. Like Kramer, sliding in out of the woodwork, to make the moment ALL ABOUT HIM. Regina departs, and Barto bows, catching the attention of lingering reporters who ALSO thought he was dead. He waxes poetic of House Beaumont offering congratulations and how he’s ready to take back his position in House Beaumont (BRUH. Bertrand might have some choice words about that if you’re assuming to take the title away from him without a fight). While he works out some sort of deal for a joint interview, Madeleine returns to suggest another tradition – a formal portrait of the couple to commemorate the royal heir announcement.

It’s another diamond option but DAMMIT MY CUTE HUSBAND WANTS A MEMENTO OF THIS DAY HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SAY NO. Drake says they don’t have photos of just the two of them to celebrate the occasion. Hana would love a more personal version of their announcement.

SAY FROMMAGE: We’re led back to the boutique for another wardrobe change, and LI Liam is all smiles. He pauses and asks MC to help him select what to wear, and there they go, getting flirty. (I find it interesting that Liam x MC get an extended boutique scene where the Liam strips to his skivvies, while Drake/Hana/Maxwell just show the outfit options.) MC decrees all (boutique) disrobing should be slow and sensual; Liam grins and holds eye contact while he strips, and flusters his queen, adding an “as you wish” to her suggestion to get dressed before she sends the photographer away. Liam’s outfit options include the traditional Cordonian outfit (the red and gold attire he wore at the end of TRR Book 3), King Fabian costume in all its red and gold finery, or his standard formal tux. He’s dashing in the first outfit and Prince Charming in the second. In the Fabian costume, he tells MC to forget the regal reasons and that he’s here for her before kissing her so sweetly that MC has stars in her eyes. MC can choose anything to wear in her closet, along with the option of wearing a tiara again. I opted for the matching red and gold dress worn at the end of TRR Book 3 and on the cover art; matchy matchy and official!

LI Drake is okay with formal conventions like photoshoots, as long as they make his wife happy. He knows his denim on denim look isn’t quite the right look, and MC can opt to respond with I’m sorry, I know it sucks / I love it when you dress up / who cares, this is our photo – with the third option, MC reminds him this is their moment and they should wear what they want. His options include the grey suit, the courtly costume, or his standard denim. LI Hana debates between looking sweet and pretty, serious and classy, or keeping it simple – options include her floral costume gala ballgown, her little black dress, or her default pink dress with shoulder cutouts. MC asks Hana to help with her hair and makeup, and Hana adds some mascara and gloss, exclaiming that she’s improved the perfection that is MC.

Ana’s already set up in the throne room, and suggests the king and queen sit in their thrones. LI Liam glances over at MC with a smile, and Ana takes a photo, telling them they look dignified and glamorous. MC’s not as convinced, being so far away from Liam for an official photo, and Liam agrees the pose looks too stiff. He wants the photo to remind the world that Cordonia is warm and welcoming, and while they’re king and queen, he and MC are also in love. He steps down from the dais and helps MC down so they’re standing together. MC adds that the photo should reflect them / inspire the people – with the first option, she wants to see love and warmth to reflect the stability of an heir to the throne, with Liam adding in that he wants Cordonia to know his marriage isn’t just an obligation *cough like it would’ve been had he followed through with a marriage to Madeleine COUGH* but this is, in fact, his forever.

Pardon me while I cry over how abso-friggin-lutely WONDERFUL this man is and how I may never find a man like this in real life. With the second option, MC wants to start off on the right foot with her people, and Liam reiterates the people didn’t fall in love with MC’s stiff and regal side (and neither did he, heh).

MC and LI Liam practically forget about having their picture taken until Ana tells them to look at her, and snaps a photo. She leaves to process the photo calling them an inspirational couple and tells them the heir is in good hands. Liam looks around the throne room, remembering that his parents took a similar portrait when Eleanor was pregnant with him. It gives him a new perspective of the photo, knowing the weight on his parents shoulders to produce an heir – uhh, but LEO was 5 or 6 already, and Crown Prince – but imagines Constantine and Eleanor were filled with joy over the knowledge they’d be bringing in another child into the world. MC says they have a lot to live up to / be thankful for – with the first answer, MC says his parents were the epitome of grace and devotion, and she hopes to embody some of that. Liam tells MC they’ll be bringing their child into a home stronger than the one he knew. With the second answer, they’re both excited and hopeful of the days to come.

And then he kneels before MC to plant a gentle kiss to her belly and I CANNOT. He’s gonna end up doing this every chapter, isn’t he? Isn’t he?? IT’S SO DAMN SWEET.

With LI Drake, Ana is open to ideas for poses, reminding the couple that this is *their* heir, and MC’s mind flashes with all the baby announcements she’s seen from others, but Drake suggests focusing on *them* since they’re already in a fancy room – the throne room – and wearing nice clothes. Drake says he’ll basically do anything for MC and their kid, including fancy things like putting on a suit to look nice in a photo, MC smiles, and…that’s the shot. Ana leaves to print the photo, adding that the heir will be in very loving hands. They chat about the baby being a focal point in everyone’s lives in a matter of months and Drake thinks they’re doing a great job at parenting so far – top notch announcement with just the right combination of warmth and snobbery and—LOOK. Drake stans, I love you, but I want to smack him sometimes with all the snobby, royal, noble snark. You are those people now Drake, bite your tongue and keep the eye rolling to yourself. MC calls him out on his teasing, and they leave…taking the sign with them to hang somewhere in Valtoria, lol.

With LI Hana, Ana suggests they try a few poses before settling on anything, and tells the couple to do what feels natural. They gaze into each other’s eyes and don’t even hear the camera shutter. Ana remarks that based on the way MC and Hana look at each other, the baby looks like it will be raised in a loving home. Hana suggests MC pose alone, since most baby photoshoots include a solo option for the pregnant mother; MC can either say this is our baby / it’s not a good photo without you – second option has MC calling Hana the most beautiful woman in the room. MC says Hana belongs next to her and their baby, and she doesn’t want Hana to think that she belongs on the sidelines. And that’s *their* shot.

What Ana says as she departs is interesting – with Liam x MC, she thinks the heir is in good hands. With Drake, the baby will be in loving hands. With Hana and MC, it more about a loving home environment. As a Liam stan, this irks me – Liam is so clearly head over heels in love with his queen, but all we get is “good”? I know he’s at a disadvantage being the monarch and all, but it’s not like he doesn’t already love Baby Ricebowl. It’s not like he loves MC any less than Drake, Hana, or Maxwell do as LIs in their respective routes.

AND THEN…: Let me preface this entire section with this image…

You drag our asses to Texas HELL for E I G H T chapters to cover a week of time, and in the span of a few minutes you’re cramming in at least half of MC’s first trimester into a montage?! WHAT IN THE EVER LOVING FUCK.

We’re in Valtoria, because… uh, why? I get that for anyone *not* with Liam, MC’s a duchess, so it makes perfect sense to be at the duchy. But as queen? Then I read @bi-outta-cordonia had an interesting post on the reason behind Liam choosing to stay at Valtoria, rather than at the palace. TL;DR version – Valtoria is a nice duchy with a gorgeous landscape that has learned to operate without the supervision of a duke or duchess (having been without one for quite a while). Its story gets to continue because of MC – new memories can be made, and she can make it her home, in this new country that she also gets to call home.

While the palace, high on a hill in the capital, has been the traditional residence of Cordonia’s kings and queens (Liam being no exception), there are a lot of negative memories tied to it. It was where Liam’s hand was forced to choose someone he didn’t love as his fiancée (Madeleine), moments after making love to the actual woman he loved or at least telling the woman he loved how he felt (MC) and all but telling her that he was going to choose her. The grand ballroom was where the assassins attacked him – where his best friend took a bullet for the woman he loved, and where his father died in his final effort to do something right. It’s a place full of mixed emotions for Liam – no doubt there are happy memories scattered between assassination attempts and attacks, but we all tend to remember negative memories more than the positive ones – and despite the safety measures of the Kings Guard, there’s a chance he feels like the vast space of the palace isn’t safe for his wife and child. So he stays with them in Valtoria. Valtoria is a blank slate – a place where he and MC can make memories together of their new family, where he can hopefully let happier memories take over anything negative that might take place in the future. Looking at it that way, I’m less upset about PB’s lack of customizing LI routes being in Valtoria. I just wish they would’ve added an explanation - would a few extra frames of Liam reasoning with MC have been that difficult to add??

Back to the recap… MC’s dealing with morning sickness that strikes any time of the day, feeling hungry and tired. LI indulges MC’s wishes to basically order room service, and there’s the option of requesting giant turkey legs / gourmet omelette / cheetah cakes / super fancy food – no matter what you choose, LI includes other options. Flash forward a few WEEKS and MC’s tossing her cookies in the bathroom. If you have any dog(s) they help comfort MC and drag towels to her to help clean up. MC can tell LI there’s nothing to worry about / why did you do this to me – with the first option, LI rubs MC’s back and offers to get more towels; with the second option, LI apologizes because, lol, what else can they do, really?

MC’s friends also look out for her – Liam pops up first if you’re not married to him, offering extra staff to look after them or help run the duchy, and even offers a chicken soup recipe Eleanor used to make. In Hana’s route, Drake adds that he remembers the soup, and Liam’s not exaggerating when he said it was good for the soul. Why wouldn’t he remember that IN HIS OWN ROUTE THOUGH. Drake asks how MC’s doing and MC can ask if THE Drake Walker is concerned for MC’s feelings / ask Drake to get her ice cream / ask Drake to distract her. Option 2, Drake ducks out of the solarium and pops back in with a bowl of ice cream, doing what he can to help, and saving his signature snark for after the baby is born. With option 3, she asks Drake to share the story of how he started singing with Liam and the Beaumonts – IT WAS OVER A BET for 200 push-ups. Hana and Maxwell get less screen time/variation in their scenes with MC – Hana’s compiled an extensive playlist of soothing music to play for the baby, including tracks she recorded of herself. You don’t get this scene if she’s your wife, mind you. MC can tell Hana it’s so sweet I could cry / the baby’s going to love it – with the former, Hana hopes they’re at least happy tears. With the latter, puts her hand over her stomach and smiles, and Hana shares that she’s already put together a playlist for the second trimester. Maxwell gets even less interaction (ie, we don’t get to choose a response to his gift) by offering to do things for MC that MC can’t do while pregnant, like eat sushi, drink, or do things like backflip into a pool.

Even Madeleine gets a scene, offering a Cordonian Ruby to MC to help with the nausea and morning sickness. MC can respond with thanks / I’m not falling for your tricks / am I supposed to pull a Sleeping Beauty with this? – with option 1, MC bites into the apple to show her thanks, and the sourness settles her stomach, Madeleine says it’s a Cordonian folk remedy, and she reminds MC to take care of herself. Answer #2 MC reminds Madeleine that the last time they ate apples together it was a trap (Apple festival where MC tried a Ruby for the first time). Madeleine tells MC it’s not a trap, but an old Cordonian folk remedy, and one that Eleanor used to swear by, where the tart apples helped with nausea. MC’s wary of anything offered by Madeleine, but she affirms it’s in her best interest to treat MC well while she’s carrying the future heir of Cordonia. She emphasizes it’s in everyone’s best interest as well.

What’s strikes me is how does Madeleine know that this is a remedy Eleanor used? She’s roughly Liam’s age/a few years older, having been Leo’s fiancée as well. If, judging by the approximate age of the gang as kids, Liam’s about…let’s say, 8 in the flashbacks, Leo would be 14 (even though we haven’t seen him AT ALL despite Leo being the Crown Prince), so Maddy would be somewhere in between – let’s go halvsies and say 11. How would 11-year-old Madeleine know that Eleanor was pregnant? Did Godfrey know and let it slip while talking to Adelaide or Barto, within earshot? Did she find out on her own? Was Eleanor eating the apples because – in addition to being pregnant and dealing with HG – she was slowly being poisoned? Kjsdhfksdjhf

What if it wasn’t HG but the fact that someone was slowly poisoning her, making it SEEM like HG?! That would, of course, have to mean that whomever was poisoning Eleanor would also know that she was pregnant, and I know I’m jumping ahead here – but it seems like it was a very small circle that even had THAT information.

FOCUS, DONNA.

MC takes a late night stroll with LI Liam, where he talks about limited unlimited curfews/free time and kisses MC and The Belly for good measure, and MC’s stomach rumbles – a warning that the not-so-morning sickness is about to strike, and Liam says he’ll get her an apple as a precaution. Drake’s moonlight stroll is about date nights and needing babysitters in the near future before they kiss/he kisses The Belly. Hana’s moonlight stroll focuses on differentiating between taking care of each other every day and spending quality time together, before kissing MC and The Belly.

Fast forward again and MC’s rearranging things in the nursery, and Olivia slips in like a ninja to move a table and congratulate MC in person about the baby news. MC prods Olivia to try and find out what she’s been up to, but Olivia doesn’t budge. MC can respond with friends can’t keep secrets forever / I trust you (so I’ll back off) / Imma just pretend you have a secret boyfriend – with option 1, MC says she won’t give up her search to figure out what Liv’s doing. Option 2 and MC says whatever’s going on, she knows Olivia’s got it handled.

Then a mystery guy pops up outta nowhere, wearing an all-black, leather jacket outfit much like Olivia’s. Olivia says that’s her new chauffeur, Ray, and then we find out Olivia is now our personal security (instead of that nitwit Mara) and she’ll be accompanying MC to her OBGYN appointment. Call her out and tell her (she) cares and she fidgets a bit while trying to hide a smile, threatening to send someone else in her place if MC tries to hug her in front of (Ray) before handing MC a dagger to keep in her purse. Tell her doctor’s offices are the opposite of dangerous and Olivia says you can never be too careful.

HEY BABY HEY BABY HEY: Olivia waits in the lobby of the doctor’s office (Liam accompanies them and waits outside if he’s not your LI), where Dr. Ramirez says MC’s well into the first trimester. MC can respond by mentioning never-ending morning sickness / some good days, some bad / never felt better. The morning sickness response gets a sympathetic face from the doc, but she says it’s a common symptom with no real cure, but as long as it’s been the only symptom, the signs look good. Ramirez offers up drinking apple tea (what about ginger, you apple-loving tartheads?) to help with the nausea, dropping another tidbit – she tells the couple that Eleanor (again) swore by the apple tea to manage her symptoms. You get this bit of info as a precaution that follows the other responses, in case the morning sickness gets really bad. MC and LI exchange baffled looks once the doctor leaves to set up the room for the ultrasound – (texting Liam if you’re not married to him, and he comes back with Olivia, which includes a funny moment where Olivia asks if she needs to stab anyone) evidently Liam was unaware that Ramirez wasn’t listed in the royal medical records as Eleanor’s OBGYN, and Eleanor told Liam she had an easy pregnancy, with almost no nausea at all.

In Liam’s route, Olivia enters the room after knocking, concerned about the lack of waitstaff when she overheard Ramirez mention something about tea. She’s unfamiliar with Ramirez as well, and MC wonders if Eleanor was more forthcoming with her OBGYN than her arguably much younger son at the time. Olivia remembers a discussion between Eleanor and Jackson from years ago, and it’s another flashback diamond scene.

A few months after Liam’s family (sans Leo) went to the Walker Ranch, Olivia and Drake were playing knight and dragon, running around the palace while they waited for Liam to finish his lessons. What lessons, we’ll never know. Just lessons. Olivia chases Drake into the dining room, where she can either fend him off with a dagger (table knife) or food (turkey leg, again) – using the dagger, she stabs Drake-gon in the heart, while he opts to eat the food and be “tamed” by Olivia and she tries to climb on top of him, lol. They decide to look for Liam at this point, finding him with Eleanor in the throne room.

Liam’s concerned for his mother, noticing that she was sick that morning, and Eleanor plays it off like it was nothing. While Olivia and Drake quietly make their way to get closer, Jackson Walker joins Eleanor and Liam, wanting to talk. We see there’s a familiarity between the two, as Jackson addresses her directly as Eleanor, instead of Your Majesty; Eleanor doesn’t wish to talk because it’s cutting into her limited time with Liam. Jackson informs her that Constantine is with his advisors, and he’s not sure when they’ll get another moment alone – so whatever he wants to talk about seems to be something shared only between the two of them (and some eavesdropping kids). Always one to placate, Liam tells his mother he understands that they need to cut their time short, and Eleanor tells Jackson she doesn’t like sneaking around and talking in hallways.

Jackson doesn’t like it either, but it seems to be one of the only ways he can keep “all of (them) safe” despite what’s been said. Whether there’s been talk amongst the nobles about keeping the royal family safe, or gossip within the Kings Guard, we’re not sure – but someone’s saying something and there’s enough buzz for Jackson to show concern. Eleanor tries to play it down, and Jackson asks if that’s coming from her “friend” – who, based on Eleanor’s response, is (Ramirez?) telling her “it” is likely Hyperemesis Gravidarium and it’s nothing to worry about.

YES IT IS, ELEANOR. HG can get bad enough to require hospitalization. It’s not just really bad morning sickness, it’s not being able to get anything down and putting the mother at risk of dehydration, among other things, if she can’t keep food or water down. Duchess Kate suffered from it with each of her pregnancies, even requiring hospitalization; I’ve had friends who had to rush to the ER because even with taking every precaution, some days got really bad.

Jackson mentions being prepared – for what, again, we don’t know – and Drake and Olivia have to hide when he looks up in their direction. Olivia can choose to hide behind the piano, a column, or Drake (in which case you get caught). If you’re not caught, Eleanor reminds Liam to be careful, and he says he always is; she says they’ll soon have so much time together he won’t know what to do with it all, and Liam smiles before Eleanor wraps him into a big, warm hug.

Olivia has a panic attack at the sight of Eleanor hugging Liam, suddenly reminded of the way her own mother used to hug her, and she wraps her arms around herself, trying to get that feeling back. This poor child just lost her parents, and while she is strong and fierce, she’s still a child in need of nurturing. Something I’m sure Eleanor would’ve extended to her, but Constantine likely shut down at every opportunity. Being denied of what seems like such a small thing, at such a young age, after what she’s been through – it shapes a person. It’s no wonder she doesn’t like hugs and resists them as an adult. Drake asks if she’s okay, and she can respond with I’m fine / you’re stupid / IMMA STOMP ON YOUR FOOT – she’s lashing out because she can’t properly process her feelings. The first option gets Drake to reply that it’s okay to be sad sometimes, but she argues back that a Nevrakis doesn’t get sad or show weakness. Liam hears them and asks what’s happened while Eleanor and Jackson leave – I assume to carry on their discussion elsewhere. With the last option and she stomps on his foot, and that’s when Liam finds them.

While Drake tries to explain what happened, Olivia starts to cry, overwhelmed by the situation, and Liam elbows Drake when (Drake) asks if she’s crying. Knowing that Olivia would perceive crying in front of others as a weakness, Liam comes to her defense, telling Drake she’s only pretending to cry to get Drake-gon to lower his guard. Olivia calls Drake-gon a stupid dragon, and he follows suit, for her sake.

Back in the present, MC can respond to the story by saying she thinks it means Liam’s mom was poisoned / Liam’s mom was pregnant / Drake and Olivia were actually friends – with option one… DUH. Liam already told us that and thanks for rubbing it in again. Second option is what we want here – MC mentioning HG again as a sign of pregnancy, which surprises Liam and Olivia. MC poses the question of Eleanor being killed *because* she was pregnant, and Liam’s not sure. He’s not even sure if Constantine knew about the pregnancy or why it needed to be kept secret. Olivia reminds them that they never caught Eleanor’s killer. Liam’s determined to get more answers, and Olivia is willing to do anything she can to help.

MC and Liam head to the examination room for an ultrasound, and soon MC and Liam can see their baby on a small screen. MC can say the baby’s so big / so little / a miracle – big response earns a smile from Liam and a little teasing that MC’s never been one for taking things slow. Little baby has MC comparing the baby to a strawberry, and LI drops an “apple blossom” with a smile. Miracle baby leaves Drake smiling and speechless. They hear the heartbeat and the doctor says MC’s about 10 weeks along before printing out an image. MC can respond by saying the baby looks like me / looks like a tadpole / looks like they’re waving. Tadpole option has LI calling it a *cute* tadpole that has lots of time to grow. With the last option, LI beams a smile at The Belly, waving at the baby, and LI calls them ‘little one’ and LI Liam says it’s so, so good to finally see them / LI Drake says don’t push yourself too hard / LI Hana says they’re happy to see them. Looking at the photo in his hand, LI LIAM FINALLY HAS SOME HAPPY TEARS IN HIS EYES AND THIS IS ALL I WANTED. LI Drake has a huge, bright smile on his face. LI Hana smiles through happy tears and is at a loss for words, tracing her finger over the image, and then tells the baby how much she already loves (it).

Ramirez leaves the room to get pamphlets and other things for the couple to read about, while they marvel at the photo of their baby. There’s a knock and the door and not-Wayne is suddenly there, talking about missing details from MC’s medical file. MC asks if she knows him from somewhere, and it’s a timed response, where any answer flusters not-Wayne while he stalls. Ramirez comes back into the room and MC realizes not-Wayne is the reporter from the press conference (if you go with the press conference option, otherwise LI recalls not-Wayne’s face) and…

MY KING LUNGES AT THE MAN in full Papa Bear mode (I mean, all the LIs lunge for the dude), but not before the reporter snaps a photo of the sonogram and dashes out the door.

NOTES: Most of my commentary was within the recap, but I’ll add this since they posted a summary of chapter 16 – WHAT THE FUCK Y’ALL. Eight. EIGHT chapters around that stupid wedding, and now they’re cramming nine months of story into what feels like 2 or 3 chapters because hacked versions of the game showed MC’s closet with pregnant sprite outfits, so she’s most likely giving birth before Book 1 ends. I’m so pissed. I understand why it happened the way it did (the writers had the standalone one off wedding story and forced that shit into the series to make a deadline/use the writing they’d already worked on rather than scrapping it) but COME ON. It could’ve been edited more than that to make more room for pregnant MC. I keep playing because I’m in love with Liam and all of these characters, but they’re seriously slacking on paying adequate attention to ALL the LIs.

I don’t want copy paste scenes where LI Liam doesn’t talk about politics or diplomacy with his WIFE, or doesn’t share more details about growing up as a child. Why didn’t we get that bit of the scene where he has a chicken soup recipe his mother used? Why wouldn’t he offer that to his WIFE while she feels like crap from morning sickness? Why don’t they ever tell us what childhood Liam’s lessons were like, other than just vaguely referring to them? Why wouldn’t Olivia take part in at least some of those lessons, being a duchess as well? Wouldn’t she need to also know how to govern her people and interact with dignitaries and nobles? Or was Constantine that much of a dick (answer – he probably WAS that much of a dick) to deny educating Olivia, after what her parents tried to do?

While I entertain the theory that Jackson and Eleanor had an affair and she’s possibly carrying Jackson’s child as an idea for an AU, I don’t think that would ever take place in this story. Liam – and Drake – hold their parents in such high regard, and for something like that to happen and for them to find out…it would crush them both. It would make their friendship suffer, and possibly end it. I don’t see PB getting that dramatic with the storyline.

Also, Liam and Drake can’t be brothers, and there’s no way Drake or Liam’s possible half brother or sister could hold claim to the throne if Jackson were the father. Drake came to Cordonia with his parents AFTER he was born, so he is most definitely Bianca and Jackson’s kid. Drake and Liam *could* be linked through the hypothetical half sibling IF you entertain the idea that Eleanor and Jackson had an affair, but it seems OOC for both of them. Jackson loves his family, and while unhappy, Eleanor hasn’t said or done anything to indicate that she would have an affair with or without Constantine’s knowledge. If Eleanor and her second child survived long enough for Eleanor to give birth – wouldn’t Liam and Constantine notice that??? – and the child was Jackson’s, there’s no way that kid could have a claim to the throne because Eleanor and Jackson are both commoners. However, if my crack theory that Liam might not actually be a direct descendant of Kenna holds water, there’s a slew of new theories that could put Cordonia’s leadership in danger.

I *DO* think Eleanor was pregnant with a second child with Constantine, but because of whatever was going on with Auvernal and possibly Barto and Godfrey, she was concerned for Liam and her unborn baby’s safety. THAT would be the reason Jackson would want to talk to her in hallways and corners in secret. I think he was trying to help them get away from Constantine, who likely had suspicions about why Eleanor was pushing for the new deal with Auvernal. From what Liam’s told us in TRR, she died from being poisoned (before she was starting to show) so things aren’t looking good for her right now.

#the royal heir #choices the royal heir #the royal heir chapter recap #TRH recap #ZaffDigsDeep #ZaffEssays #King Liam #Drake Walker #Hana Lee #Maxwell Beaumont #King Liam x MC playthrough #long post #so. many. theories!!#I'm adding a couple of my own in the read more section #again no Maxwell route even though it's really late in the week that I'm posting this recap #I'm high key pissed they crammed so much into this chapter #and high key pissed things are rushing forward with the pregnancy as this book gets closer to the end

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ellinghamhq · 5 years ago

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Oyez, oyez! (Yes, I’m going to use this phrase as often as possible.) I know I’m a tiny bit late, but I’ve finally finished arranging the pairs + prompts for December’s mini pairing up event! Basically, how this works is that all the characters who were entered in the google form were paired up (in every pair, one is meant to write the starter, and you’ll see that mentioned in the list) and then given a little prompt! The rules for it are quite simple, really! All you have to do is, if you’re meant to write the starter, to try and have it up before December 18. You can message the person you’re paired up with beforehand to plot a little, but it’s not obligatory! Then, the other person will reply to your starter, and ta-da! New thread started! As far as prompts go, some are more detailed than others, but I recommend playing around with them to try and make them work for you. You can follow them completely, of course, but I don’t want you to feel forced to do that, you know? So, yes!

p.s. If you have to back down for some reason, or if you want to join in last minute, or anything else, please don’t hesitate to message me and I’ll try and fix something up!

p.p.s. Please tag all your starters for the event with #ellingham:mini2, but NOT #ellingham:starter!

pairs + prompts under the cut!

Ingrid Abernathy ( @iddyabernathy ) should write a starter for Christian Garnet ( @heartstorn ) !!

PROMPT: An old man dropped his wallet in front of the grocery store, and both Ingrid and Christian have noticed it.

Roxanne Leclerc ( @deneigement ) should write a starter for Dakota Hefner ( @dckotas ) !!

PROMPT: Roxanne is putting up the Christmas lights in front of her house and yells out to Dakota for help to reach a bit higher.

Adrien Liu ( @amourxdhiver ) should write a starter for Declan Cleary ( @heartstorn ) !!

PROMPT: Adrien throws a snowball at a friend but misses, and it accidentally hits Declan in the shoulder.

Astrid Carrigan ( @amourxdhiver ) should write a starter for Elijah Winters ( @elijahwintcrs ) !!

PROMPT: The two of them are at the open-to-all skate night at the ice rink, and both come up to the concessions counter to get a mug of hot chocolate at the same time.

Jeremy Atkinson ( @deneigement ) should write a starter for Elodie Davis ( @heartstorn ) !!

PROMPT: Jeremy and Elodie get stuck inside the Winter Café during a big snow storm that makes the roads are too dangerous to drive on.

Delphine Nadeau ( @deneigement ) should write a starter for Jaylah Star ( @cfsiilverliiniings ) !!

PROMPT: They both attend a charity event to help fund nature conservation in Ellingham, and end up meeting at the open bar.

Eason Rush ( @easonxrush ) should write a starter for Melody Townsend ( @cfsiilverliiniings ) !!

PROMPT: The bottom of Melody's grocery bag breaks and Eason witnesses it.

Bronwyn Clarke ( @lasaison ) should write a starter for Lydia Henderson ( @heartstorn ) !!

PROMPT: The two are standing on the same street corner when they witness someone dressed like Santa on a bike ignore a red light and someone in a car honking quite intensely at that person.

Arielle Nadeau ( @diaphsncus ) should write a starter for Micah Davis ( @heartstorn ) !!

PROMPT: The two of them were standing in front of the Winter Café when they got cornered by very insistant girl scouts trying to convince them to give them things for the Christmas toy drive.

Alexis Cerone ( @lasaison ) should write a starter for Monroe Oakley ( @ffsmonroe ) !!

PROMPT: Alexis and Monroe are both shopping for Christmas trees in the little Christmas tree farm in Ellingham when they notice a doe standing not too far away from them.

Stella Marinos ( @justroses ) should write a starter for Quest Pryor ( @cfsiilverliiniings ) !!

PROMPT: There was a disturbance caused by someone a bit too drunk at a small Firestorm charity concert for the Maison des Marguerites, and Quest is the first cop to show up and is greeted by Stella.

Evan Woods ( @evanvvoods ) should write a starter for Royal Ford ( @cfsiilverliiniings ) !!

PROMPT: They both reach for the same book at the library, which is currently decked out in decorations for Christmas.

Arrow Hart ( @brokewinqs ) should write a starter for Zander Carey ( @zanderhq ) !!

PROMPT: Arrow notices Zander drinking alone at one of Ellingham's few bars, not too long before Christmas.

Sage Cooper ( @heartstorn ) should write a starter for Gabriel Royer ( @lasaison ) !!

PROMPT: Sage goes into the record store Gabriel works at and has to ask for help to find a specific record (either for her or for a gift or something).

Lucas Fernandez ( @lasaison ) should write a starter for Esme Vidal ( @deneigement ) !!

PROMPT: Esme's car breaks down and she's stuck standing beside it on the side of the road when Lucas drives by and maybe stops.

Lia Tran ( @amourxdhiver ) should write a starter for Joe Whenham ( @joewhenham ) !!

PROMPT: Lia witnesses Joe wandering around drunk/tipsy in the Ellingham Christmas Market.

Sutton Gardner ( @heartstorn ) should write a starter for Blue Wesley ( @justroses ) !!

PROMPT: Sutton notices Blue looking quite intense whilst doing some research at the library, and has to walk past them and ask them to move to get to the computer next to them.

Brooke Putnam ( @heartstorn ) should write a starter for Analyse Mikaelson ( @brokewinqs ) !!

PROMPT: Brooke helps Analyse out with something that fell from the latter's basket at the grocery store when they hear on the speaker that the store is closing in half an hour.

Adriana Mercan ( @adrianamercan ) should write a starter for Oliver Beaulieu ( @oliiverbeau ) !!

PROMPT: Adriana notices Oliver looking completely overwhelmed in a fancy store's perfume section.

Veronica “Ronny” Jacobson ( @lasaison ) should write a starter for Elara Adams ( @elaraadams ) !!

PROMPT: Ronny and Elara reach for the same Christmas drink to-go at the Winter Café at the same time after it's called by the drink's name, and the name written on the cup is impossible to read.

Carson Forbes ( @heartstorn ) should write a starter for Kay Harris ( @detectivekay ) !!

PROMPT: Carson is walking around admiring the Christmas lights when she notices Kay in his yard, playing in the snow with his dogs.

Valerie White ( @forensicvalerie ) should write a starter for Eloise Leblanc ( @ellelbc ) !!

PROMPT: Eloise is waiting in line with her son to meet Santa, when something falls from her purse and Valerie, passing by, picks it up for her.

Étienne Bellegarde ( @deneigement ) should write a starter for Marigold Arias ( @brokewinqs ) !!

PROMPT: Étienne has to pass by Marigold whilst she's filming a video and isn't sure when/how to do that so he just stands there awkwardly waiting for her to finish.

Valentina Moreno ( @deneigement ) should write a starter for Rebecca “Beck” Pasdar ( @beckpasdar ) !!

PROMPT: Valentina's helping Firestorm out with a small charity concert, and meets with Beck a few days prior to discuss things at the Winter Café.

Liam Atkinson ( @lasaison ) should write a starter for Mallory Reed ( @heartstorn ) !!

PROMPT: Mallory and Liam have been waiting in a dentist's waiting room for over two hours because of a snow storm that's keeping the dentist stuck at his place, and them stuck at the dentist's office. Alone, now that the secretary has gone to the employees' room.

Marlow Wilson ( @marlow-wilson ) should write a starter for Talia Tremblay ( @deneigement ) !!

PROMPT: Marlow's in line at the grocery force when a tiny lil child runs into her legs. That child is Leo, Talia's 2 years old son, and not long after, Talia is picking him up and apologizing profusely to Marlow.

Mali Krimkul ( @malikrim ) should write a starter for Noelle Laurent ( @justroses ) !!

PROMPT: Mali and Noelle are walking on the sidewalk when a group of 7-8 year old kids beg them to help them build a snowman.

Sydney Moore ( @detectivesydneymoore ) should write a starter for Autumn Cheng ( @deneigement ) !!

PROMPT: Autumn and Sydney end up trapped in a store when there's a power outage and the doors of the store automatically lock and neither of them can figure out how to open them.

#ellingham:event #ellingham:mini2 #appless rp #mumu rp #winter rp

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lizzybeth1986 · 6 years ago

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Quick Thoughts on TRR Book 3, Chapter 17

• I'm basically sitting here and thinking "jeez, these guys really want us to know FOR SURE that they don't give a shit about their lone female LI, do they". Like, you gotta admire the dedication this team has to the cause. Like, the audacity of them to put out an entire extra Drake scene while not speaking a word about Hana's sexuality in canon, esp if she isn't your fiancée. That probably takes guts. Or maybe not. Maybe all it really takes is actually giving a damn (or not) about your characters.

• Title: Save the Date. Alternative Title: Proof That Team TRR Has Excellent Memory, Unless Your Name Is Hana Lee.

• The TRR team everytime they need to do their homework on Liam or Drake:

The TRR team everytime they need to do their homework on Maxwell or Hana (but especially Hana):

• So I assumed based on the description and the title (Save the Date), that this would include a RoE-esque selection of dress, decor, cake, all free except for a few choices. So far all we've been able to select for our wedding is food. Today we choose cake via a diamond option, our maids of honor, the kids who will carry the ring down the aisle and our officiant. And gifts for the LIs.

• Madeleine thinks Gladys has "risen" to her "level". Madeleine has a level???

• Okay so we're doing a publicity run of our wedding preps. Are we that desperate to show the rest of the country how much last-minute-wedding-planning we can cram in two hours??

•

Terrence, is this your summer job?? Also, Tina, girl, I saved your ass last book after you screwed me over. The least you could do is say "thank you, O Great One and Saviour of Us All" Jeez, what do I have to do to be worshipped around here these days 🙄

•

PURPLE 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍 (Sorry I love that colour it's my favouritest). But wait why am I paying for a dress if I'm going to the bridal boutique to pick out my wedding gown...right? Right?? (Orrr am I going to get a lovely fancy wedding gown for free??? 😀 Who woulda thunk!) (...oh. I have to wait till next week to see my gown. Okay. Okay. 😑)

• So we're now here in this boutique with half the court and Ana de Luca. First on our agenda: the maid of honour. If you're marrying Liam or Drake, you get to choose between Hana, Kiara, Olivia, Penelope and Maxwell. All good options xD If you're marrying Maxwell you get those four. If you're marrying Hana, you get three: Olivia, Penelope and Maxwell. Kiara isn't available because by default Hana picks her to be her MOH. Hana is clearly very, very close to Kiara and values her. Way more than the rest of us in the group seem to do, anyway.

The choices I want for Esther are Hana or Kiara. I love both. I'm so glad they included Maxwell, I like Penelope, Olivia is amazing, and all their reactions are wonderful, but these two are my favourites. (Though I'd say Esther would definitely pick Hana. She's closest to her, even calling herself "the Elizabeth to Hana's Jane").

• Once that's done, the LI gets to choose their Best Man/MOH 2. Liam chooses Drake, and he mostly behaves a little surprised and afraid that he might embarrass Liam on his wedding, which is quite the sweet sentiment and a little sad. Drake chooses Liam and from what I see, the narrative makes it a point to mention that Liam has to force his happiness because he's still not over the MC. He shows this even if the MC has not had romance points with him. Maxwell chooses Drake, specifying that even if they weren't related by marriage, he'd still consider Drake family. Drake is surprised and a little touched by the sentiment. Hana, as I mentioned before, chooses Kiara.

• Time for our ring bearers! The number of choices you have depends on whether you bought the corgi in Book 2 or not. If you do, he shows up as an extra option. The other choices are:

1. Bartie, who will be carried along the aisle via Savannah. I'm getting nightmares of the few times we took my daughter V to church and...nope. Sorry Bartie.

2. Cordonian children. Bertrand tells us that using Cordonian kids, as ring bearers and flower girls, would count as "a sign of commitment to the common people". My headcanon for Esther was that she wanted a mix of both Cordonian and New Orleans traditions (she grew up in the French Quarter), so she took every possible chance she could to highlight how Cordonian a wedding it was so the NOLA elements wouldn't completely alienate people. So she obviously chose this option.

• We now move to the last bit. If you're marrying Maxwell or Hana, Liam automatically becomes an option for the role of officiant, since it is mandatory to have a royal officiate the ceremony. If you're marrying Drake, Liam's not included because he is already Drake's best man by default. The other two options are Leo and Regina. If you choose Regina, the MC views it as fitting, given that Constantine would have been the officiant were he still alive. Regina in that sense would be a fitting stand-in. If you choose Leo, the MC maintains that he would lend "humour and levity to the ceremony" and that's something they all need at the moment.

•

This man and his "my love"s slay me every time.

• BAKLAVA REFERENCE FOR LIAM. ALL THE WAY BACK FROM ROE BOOK 2.

• Esther Noelle DuPont would NEVER leave wedding gown stuff for the last minute. Nor would she wind up on the eve of her wedding not knowing who was designing her dress until the day before. She would be badgering Liam about the cake way before. She would be badgering him about the decor. She'd be badgering him about every little detail. She'd be bridezilla. No way would she be chilling the day before her wedding, ice tea in hand.

• But they did remember that Ana de Luca was originally introduced as a fashion designer from way back in MW! Madeleine also gives Ana some of Krona's finest lace, which makes me wonder if it's a tradition to have lace from Krona on a royal/aristocratic wedding gown. My theory about this gown for the next chapter is that it might be the same for everyone, but will have additional elements behind a paywall. Or will she have options between two or three gowns? Idk.

• We get to choose how we want to be announced, and then comes the diamond option - choosing our cake with the LI.

(Screenshots - @kennaxval for Hana, and YouTube channels Vika Avey for Maxwell and HIMEME for Drake)

This is the breakdown of what this scene looks like in each playthrough:

Liam

Cake flavours: Vanilla Chantilly (white), Mocha Fudge (chocolate) and Sweetened Cordonian Ruby (pink). Liam loves the vanilla one for its subtle and complex flavours, considers the mocha one "strong, daring...somewhat sensual" and finds the pink one full of surprises (due to the Cordnian Ruby flavouring) and that "there's more to it than meets the eye". If you notice all of these are flavours Liam has an established preference for (vanilla, coffee, apples).

Decorations: The Royal design reminds Liam of his parents, so there is an element of nostalgia still there. He loves the colours of the Fairytale design, finds them "fantastically beautiful" and thinks it would be good inspiration in case they would like to expand the palace quarters.

Cake Filling: The filling options are the same across the LIs. Vanilla buttercream, rich chocolate ganache and strawberry mousse. In Liam's case, you can either feed ganache off of each other, simply try each flavour, or have him surprise you. I love my Kinky King so I knew "surprise me" would involve a blindfold somewhere 😂 (Love that option. It's quite sexy). I've also noticed that only Liam seems to have 3 options for the ganache tasting, while the rest have just two.

You also get to choose between Cordonian Ruby Pie and Baklava for a surprise dessert!

Maxwell:

Cake flavours: Coconut (white), Passionfruit (pink), and Spicy Chocolate (chocolate). He thinks of the coconut one as being "pina colada in cake form", loves the element of surprise in the passionfruit and thinks its "non traditional" flavour describes them as an aristocratic couple perfectly, and just says "wow" about the chocolate. The baker, who remembers Maxwell once trying to surprise Bertrand with cheetah cake on the latter's birthday, even sends one as a bit of an inside joke.

Cake Decorations: Maxwell jokes about the royal design being more decked out than some estates but thinks that "nothing says you're a big deal like gilded flowers, gold and jewels you can eat". He loves the castle in the Fairytale design and likes to imagine there are little cake people walking in there.

Surprise desserts for Maxwell include Cordonian Ruby Pie and Cheetah Cake.

Hana

Cake flavours: Strawberry (pink), Madagascar Vanilla (white), and Devil's Food Cake (chocolate). She thinks strawberry makes her think of it as "something...different. Adventurous". She thinks of the Devil's Food cake as "daring" and loves the vanilla because classic white cakes remind her of storybook weddings, and on cajoling from the MC to tell her honestly what flavours are her favourite Hana speaks of vanilla in a manner similar to Liam's.

Decorations: Hana is wowed by the artistry of the Royal design, confessing that she has always wanted to learn to make icing pearls as perfect as the ones on the cake. There is a tiny conversation about her baking that takes a minute, tops. The fairytale option feels whimsical and reminds her of that saying about "building castles in the clouds".

The surprise options for dessert are Cordonian Ruby Pie and Hot Chocolate.

Drake

Cake flavours: Pink Velvet (pink), Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake (chocolate) and Tahitian Vanilla Cake (white). As we all must know by now, he is okay with the flavour but finds pink "girly", doesn't have much to say about the vanilla cake and the chocolate makes him very nostalgic, because the chocolate cake was similar to the recipe his mother would use for his or Savannah's birthday cakes.

Decorations: Drake has reservations about the grandness of the Royal design but thinks it works since the occasion itself is an elaborate one. He admires the structure and craftsmanship of the Fairytale design and both him and the MC speak about the cake reminding them of the towers in Valtoria.

The surprise options for dessert are Cordonian Ruby Pie and S'mores.

• I've noticed that the story clearly references Liam's love for baklava and Maxwell's love for cheetah cakes in this chapter, but for Hana and Drake, they use desserts from their first scenes in Book 2 (where Hana prepares hot chocolate for the MC, and Drake toasts s'mores for her).

• Hmm so apparently there's some sort of surprise that all four LIs are planning for the MC. I'm guessing we'll find out next chapter.

•

My favourite scene in this chapter. I loved how Kiara immediately got protective of Savannah and made it clear that she cared about making Savannah comfortable. I think it's also pretty cool that they remembered to reference the Savannah/Kiara friendship hinted at in Book 2, and it looks like Penelope was quite fond of her too.

• The MC now needs to run to a gift store, because Madeleine lets her know at the nth moment that Cordonian tradition dictates you get gifts for the bridegroom/bride and your closest attendants. Savannah offers to help, in exchange for a little advice on her love life.

• We first pick up wedding favours at a patisserie (chocolates or macarons). I had Esther pick macarons coz she has a liking for French cuisine and food, and macarons are delicate, delicious and versatile.

• We then pass by a shop called "The Gilded Apple" that sells beautiful and rare antiques. Olivia, who loves weapons and artifacts, and is hoping she will find replicas there, is understandably excited. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to find any (unless she did off-screen and we didn't know? Poor Olivia. Why was it so hard to find Nevrakis artifacts/replicas there?)

• So even if you buy that diamond choice to help Bertrand woo Savannah at the Costume Gala, she confesses there are still barriers. Savannah fangirling over Bertrand's "stern, yet sexy eyebrows" is a Mood™.

• Savannah tells us the entire story of how she fell in love with Bertrand, pointing out that she hero-worshipped him and thought him glamorous, and was amazed that he was so protective of her. The MC has a range of joke replies to suggest to Savannah, before telling her seriously that she should confess to him what is in her heart. But my big question is: why are almost all the BertVannah scenes for free? Why couldn't you use that free scene to...idk...properly develop Hana's character maybe??

• So here are our gifts for the LIs:

A Historical Tome for Liam. This is a hand-written history book with a blank chapter left presumably on purpose. The MC points out that he will appreciate either the rarity of the book, or the empty pages. The second option is my favourite, because the blank chapter seems to signify that Cordonia's story is "far from over" and it is "upto Liam to write this next chapter".

Maxwell will get a statue of his namesake. Savannah speculates that even though he looks like little more than an enthusiastic partygoer on the outside, both he and Bertrand can be fierce in their own ways. The MC gets to joke about what the Beaumonts might do with this statue of their ancestor, including imagining a half-drunk Maxwell using his namesake's spear to pop open champagne from a ladder.

Drake's Marshmallows Inside A Whiskey Box is quite funny and the MC gets to roast him a bit. She jokes about how it symbolizes what a softie he is on the inside even though he looks tough on the outside. It can either be spoken of as an inside joke, or as the MC showing him how well she knows him.

Hana's Telescope...well. It doesn't reflect her actual, genuine interests or personal/family history like the other three do, but instead involves some generic messages about "following your path" or "searching out your passions". Which is...eh. Tbh it sounds more like the MC is buying her a Hallmark card or something. This gift doesn't tell us much about HER, but then again when you don't develop your female LI with enough substance, that's what's bound to happen. You'll just throw over any piece of random bullshit to make do.

• I like the little story Kiara gets with her dad using that telescope, though. The one where he fooled her as a child into thinking she could see all of Europe using a telescope. I like the dynamic of that entire family. Sure they can appear businesslike to some but the love and the closeness is clearly there.

• Okay before I say anything...CONGRATS Drake stans. Nice to see so many of your MCs become Mrs Walkers now.

•

(A huge thank you to VioletFlipFlops for this screenshot)

Okay so if you're a Drake stan, you get an extra scene. The MC wants to give Drake a wedding he will be happy with, and Drake would love it too, so Maxwell suggests they elope and he will be their minister/officiant (apparently he got himself ordained to officiate over a wedding between peacocks). So they go to a nearby cliff, where you can have a lovely view of the sunset. Drake brings with him a horse named Lone Star who came all the way from his mother's Texas ranch. They have their secret country wedding and the screenshots I saw look like the stuff out of every Drake stan's dreams. Story wise, this is important for Drake's arc because it shows that he has found his place and he doesn't have to completely leave behind who he is to be the man the MC wants. Both the duel and this impromptu secret wedding bring his story full-circle beautifully.

I had to leave this scene midway though. I couldn't stomach it, couldn't stand it, and for the first time in forever I left viewing a diamond scene before it got over (or before it got to sex if they weren't my LI). I felt a little sick and quite frustrated tbh. And it really isn't because of Drake. My problem here goes deeper than that.

• From the little that I saw, Maxwell was amazing as well. He set aside the bromance jokes for the day because "this isn't about me, it's about the two of you". Oh Maxwell. You really do shine when the writers allotted for you actually bother, and they didn't do you justice this book.

• It's now almost night and our LIs have returned from whatever surprise thingummy they were planning. Everyone's happy and excited and advising the MC to take rest and Mara is here to lead everyone back to the palace. And then a crowd that first looks like a bunch of excited onlookers closes in on the MC, intimidating her, and from among the lot we see...TERRANCE. WITH A GUN. AND A PAPER FULL OF INFO ON OUR WEDDING PLANNING. WTF.

• YOU SHOULD BE IN SCHOOL DOING YOUR HOMEWORK AND PLAYING CLARINET TERRENCE. YOU'RE GROUNDED.

• The tone of the chapter's end sounds like there will be some level of investigation going on but we can't entirely be sure. In any case, I don't know how they will handle both this and the rest of the wedding prep. Let's see.

General Thoughts:

• We'd better get lingerie. I've been through enough I want the kind of sex where my king rips off my clothes and breaks my bed and makes me scream and Gladys has invest in earplugs next and...yeah. I need the right lingerie for that.

• RoE Book 3 could have been better in certain respects but one of the things they did really well was to spread out the wedding preps. It's tougher to do that here, because of all the subplots, but leaving it until so close to the end wasn't exactly the best idea either.

• I'll be honest: the "girly pink cake" comment irked me but didn't entirely anger me. On one level I hate it when people say stuff like that because I'm a girl who grew up hearing those things and I'm a mum who doesn't want my children to internalize that. It may sound like a small thing, like a casual preference, but stereotyping and forcing people into boxes start out with things we believe are "small"...and whether you think he's that kind of person or not, bottomline is the writers shouldn't have had such a massively popular character say that. It could have been ten times easier to just have him say he doesn't like that colour very much or something. See? Crisis averted.

• However, I didn't have as much of a problem with this scene as I did with, say, that scene where the MC and Drake talk to Kiara in Lythikos. Frankly for me, the fact that Drake's sympathy towards Kiara was conditional and depended solely on the MC's responses was way more disturbing. In one option, it's established that Drake and Kiara both struggled mentally in the aftermath of the attack, and that he understands it's difficult for her to get out of that trauma so easily.

But then...if the MC is insensitive and trauma-minimizing, she gets to question Kiara about not being driven enough, about "what will people say if you spend a crisis hiding away in your home?", and Drake agrees. He doesn't contest what she's saying, he doesn't challenge her, he doesn't seem to even have a mind of his own in this sequence. In this option, the MC and Drake face no repercussions at all for essentially minimizing her experience and not addressing their lack of concern for her safety, after finding out about her PTSD. My expectation when I eventually chose that option was that Drake - as someone who went through something similar - would correct the MC, and Kiara would give her the tongue lashing of a lifetime. But no, in that scene Drake is interested in validating this woman's trauma only on someone else's say-so. If I - personally - were to have a problem with Drake as a character, this scene would highlight why. And even then I know the core of the problem is not Drake. Not really. It's not as much Drake as it is the fact that the writers themselves were only interested in lip-service for this scene, not genuine validation (which is why normally sensitive people like Hana and Liam don't seem to question the group's approach to Kiara much, and nor does Maxwell). The writers possibly didn't think Kiara's experience deserved the level of sympathy that was present by default in Penelope's scene at Portavira (which is why I HIGHLY regret speaking positively about the Lythikos conversation in that chapter's QT now).

• But my biggest problem is not Drake himself. The way he is written wouldn't have been a problem at all, under different circumstances. My biggest problem is the discrepancy in how the LIs are treated in the books, how some get quality content and carefully developed character arcs while others are simply given lazy writing. And right now, the differences are so obvious and so glaring they're impossible to ignore.

• Drake got a whole extra scene today. A whole extra scene, on the logic that unlike the other three, he would be way more comfortable with a private ceremony involving just him and the MC (he says as much in Lythikos, both to Kiara and to the MC). Normally, I would have probably been happy about this. It works for Drake's character and story, and brings it full-circle to that photoshoot they had in Chapter 2 on some levels. From the little I managed to read, I can tell it was written really, really well.

And that's the problem. Over here, we have the team working on AN ENTIRE EXTRA SCENE for this character, after chapters and chapters of well developed scenes that acquire depths and layers if he is marrying the MC. Drake's narrative tends to have extra layers stitched into it - the expectations of being a Duke, the reluctance to let go of who he is while embracing his role as a future noble, the insults he faces from people like Neville and how he manages to rise above them by proving himself. Hell, they even ensure that they reference his bond with Liam and how his relationship with the MC complicates things. In this chapter alone, Liam's pain is highlighted differently in Drake's playthrough compared to the others (he shows some level of heartbreak when Drake asks him to be his best man, compared to when Hana or Maxwell ask him to be their officiant). The group chats, too, highlight Liam being part of the chat in the Hana and Maxwell playthroughs, and completely absent on Drake's:

(Screenshots from (2) @kennaxval (Hana), (3) YouTube Channels Vika Avey (Maxwell) and (4) HIMEME (Drake))

I wouldn't be surprised if they had some kind of a closure scene between Drake and Liam on this account later, while having him be absolutely okie-dokie in the Hana and Maxwell playthroughs. That's the level of attention Drake's story is being given (you can argue that Liam's relationship with Drake is different, and you'd be right, but it just goes to show how much WORK went into building this character).

And this is not restricted just to Drake. Liam has way more in terms of content as well and his scenes are of great quality. He has practically the entire book revolving around him! The book aggressively pushes him as an LI until almost the end of Book 2. The narrative has made an effort to view Liam as someone intimately involved and invested in the history of his country - it shows in most of his individual scenes, and in his cake scene and gift this chapter. Even Maxwell, who normally hasn't been given much attention this book, gets memories and some historical stuff this chapter (such as the ancestor who is his namesake and the story about the cheetah cake).

On the other hand...you have Hana. Whose canon sexuality - and her larger struggle with it - is hardly addressed in the books. Whose experience with bullying at the hands of Madeleine has been largely forgotten, even as we're constantly expected to protect Penelope from the same person. Who has gotten some of the most lackluster scenes in the series. Whose character arc got the laziest wrap-up you could imagine, who now doesn't even get original lines to describe a cake flavour she likes, or a gift that adequately reflects who she is. Whose story is given lesser focus than secondary characters like Penelope and Madeleine. PENELOPE. AND MADELEINE.

• Forget about every other chapter and take just this one as an example.

Notice how there is very little genuine personalization or memories attached either to Hana's cake scene - she simply echoes what Liam says about the flavour of vanilla when speaking about her love for classic white cake, and briefly mentions baking - or her gift which is a telescope, and which the MC attaches some generic saying/phrase to. The gift assigned for her itself is SO random, has little to no connection to Hana, and is a very odd choice for a gift. Couple that with the Hallmark-esque sayings that the MC wants to push forward, and compare it to her thought process for any one of the other LI gifts. You will see the difference.

(While you're at it, also check out this story by @i-dream-so-i-write called "The Perfect Gift". It's a rewriting of the scene for Hana's gift)

There is no throwback to, say, a time when they all had to bake pies for Queen Regina, and the latter praised Hana. Or to stories narrated to her. Or to things the MC knows she likes to do. No memories connected to Hana's grandmother, who she was obviously close to. Nothing that tells us anything new about her.

This isn't the first time this is happening. And it definitely won't be the last.

• And it's not as if they don't get any money from Hana's scenes. Even when she isn't picked as a final choice on a very large scale, she still manages to make it to the top ten in terms of diamond spending. She may not be making as much bank as Liam and Drake, but she IS clearly making bank. I'm surprised that's possible because a lot of the writing for her since Book 2 isn't worth the money people like me are constantly spending on her scenes. So I can't even buy the excuse that she's written badly because she's not popular. Clearly there are enough people invested enough in her to buy her scenes despite the lack of effort.

I wish I had more to talk about besides these complaints about how Hana is written, but I'm really not left with much of a choice. I'd like to close this QT by mentioning just one thing: the original line up of LIs given to us was Liam, Drake and Hana. One of them has the entire plot of the story revolving around him. The other has consistent and well-written character development, including an extra secret wedding scene and vast differences in his dialogue with the MC based on his relationship with her. The third LI...is given less attention and validation than at least two secondary characters in the book.

All these three were characters meant to be LIs from the very beginning. All of them made a good amount of money and had great potential for growth. So why is it that only one of the original lineup is given only scraps, while the other two get an all-you-can-eat buffet?

#the royal romance #long post #Liam x mc #king liam #hana x mc #hana lee #drake x mc #drake walker #Maxwell x mc #Maxwell beaumont #Olivia nevrakis #TRR Penelope #trr kiara #Hana rant #TRR quick thoughts #quick thoughts

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burlveneer-music · 7 years ago

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My WVUD playlist, 2/24/2018

Nona Hendryx & Gary Lucas "Sure 'Nuff 'N Yes I Do" Nona Hendryx & Soul Clap "Scream (Like You Want It)" Golden Bug "Amazonia" Mamuthones "Show Me" Franz Ferdinand "Always Ascending" New War "Revealer" White "Blush" Sextile "Current Affair (feat. Sienna)" Bush Tetras "Red Heavy" Fire! "The Hands" Morphine "Thursday" Mopo "Riisto" Talibam! "Reign of Primordial Tenure on the Ice Shelf" Thick Syrup "Jennifer" Killing Joke "Eighties" De Lux "Stratosphere Girl (feat. Mark Stewart)" Sons Of Kemet "My Queen Is Harriet Tubman" Black Mantra "Tocaia" T. Rex "20th Century Boy" Muse "Supermassive Black Hole" Power Station "Get It On (Bang A Gong)" The Blow Monkeys "OK! Have It Your Way" Liam Lynch "Try Me" Paul Woznicki "Straight Ahead" Ko Shin Moon "Uber Ciftetelli" Carpenter Brut "Hairspray Hurricane" Goat Girl "The Man"

#wvud #permutations #playlist

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freckledandfighting-blog · 8 years ago

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Hamilsquad x Reader Chapter 1.

Hello hello hello! Guess what, its me. And I’m containing myself from singing the rest of ‘Hello’ from Adele. So chapter 1 is up, please comment, ask questions request because I get bored sometimes all the time.

Warnings: Horrible editing, I’m on my phone posting from a roller coaster. Also swearing, always swearing.

2:09 pm.

It had been eleven days since you had told your boys. The week was spent with everyone packing, Alex repeating your family’s names under his breath, Laf trying to perfect his English, and Mr. Washington practically forcing your boyfriends to take a break. Alexander had enough unused sick days and vacations for all of you.

Angelica gave you the week off as soon as you said yes to her promotion.

“Yes. Definitely. You are going, that is final.”

“Yes, Angel, thank you so much for your input, I wouldn’t have gone without your permission.” You said sarcastically. She shoved you with her elbow and swiftly pushed you out the door so you could actually do your job.

“Don’t forget you have to start interviewing people eventually!” She called to you from her office.

3:09 pm.

“How much sunscreen do I need to take?” John asked you, sitting on his suitcase, which was overloaded with his bathing suits and art supply.

It was Thursday afternoon and you and your boyfriends were spending your last day before leaving perfecting your packing. You were leaving on Friday after Alex, John and Laf’s coffee run, they were given an extra day off. Hercules was leaving Cato with the shop for the break and Angelica said if you came to work that day, she would call security.

“I mean, I’m sure we have some at the house.. maybe a bit if you want it.” You said nonchalantly, checking your passport.

“I don’t need anymore freckles.” You looked up. John was shirtless, debating between two shirts. Freckles were dappled across his shoulders, down his back, a few on his toned chest.

“I like your freckles.” You tilted your head, clearly checking out your boyfriend. He turned around, a mischievous grin spread over his face.

“What are you-” you were scooped up and thrown on the bed. He attacked you with kisses, tickling your sides, making you squeal a protest.

He responded with more playful kisses across your collarbone. You squirmed under his grip, but not really trying.

“Lemme go!” You whined, pushing your hands up against his shoulders. “Johnny!”

He didn’t let go, but he stopped tickling you and just rested his head in the crook of your neck. You sighed, shifting under him, getting as comfortable as possible with your boyfriend collapsed atop you.

Well.. as possible you can get with another human on you.

It was these little moments that really made you fall in love. Cuddling, curling up and watching Stranger Things, buying ice cream, dancing on the sidewalk.. the list could go on forever. It was the simple seconds you spent with your partners that made you fall more in love with them anymore.

“Y/N-” Alex started, then froze when he walked into the room, seeing the two of you. “Aww!”

You grumbled halfheartedly, not really making an effort to complain. You were cozy, using John as a personal heated blanket, and you were not moving. He nuzzled his forehead on your collarbone, humming slightly. You could feel him nibbling lightly on your neck.

“Laffy! Herc! Look they’re being adorable!” He yelled, leaning his head out the doorway, alerting the other two.

“Shuddup Alex.” You said into John’s shoulder. “Alexandre, couldn’t it wait-” Lafayette opened his mouth making an inaudible coo. “You look so cute, Mon Petits.”

John lifted his head, a satisfied grin across his face. You narrowed your eyes, confused of his wicked smile. “What did you do..” You said accusingly.

“Johnathan Laurens!” Hercules scolded, shoving him off of you. You jumped up, running to the bathroom. He definitely did something.

“Fucking hell!” You yelled, throwing your arms into the air. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

John had left a large red hickey on your neck.

“Oops!” He called from the bedroom. You could actually hear the cheeky grin on his face. “My bad!”

“We’re meeting her parents in less than forty-eight hours! No kisses!” Alex instructed, crossing his arms. Alex was 5'6 he wasn’t tall, he had a slim figure, he was far from threatening.

“But Alex!” John whined loudly. “She’s so kissable!”

You rolled your eyes. “So are the rest of them.” You gestured to your other partners.

“Tell us more about your family.” Hercules wrapped his arms around you, hugging you from behind. You smiled, kissing his shoulder.

“What do you want to know?”

“Chase, Lucas, Oliver, Charlie, Percy, Scott, Tyler, Dylan, Theo, Mason, Roy, Conner, Cory, Liam, Benny.. I’m forgetting someone!” Alex wailed, collapsing dramatically on the bed. “But don’t tell me! I have to figure this out.”

You smirked, knowing instantly who he was missing.

“Fifteen.. who’s the sixteenth?” He murmured, hitting his head with a pillow.

“Alex, Honey, relax.” John soothed, shoving a pair of flip flops into his suitcase. “They aren’t going to freak if we don’t know all of their names.” He turned toward you, his eyes wide. “They won’t freak if we don’t know all of their names, will they?”

“They are much more worried about getting Laf’s right.” You laughed, winking at the Frenchmen.

“Many have tried, few have succeeded.” He chuckled, blowing you a kiss.

“Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette.” You answered, shuffling around with Hercules still attached to you. “Eleven words.. my mom has more kids than that, she’ll manage.”

“Who am I missing!” Alex succumbed to help. “Fifteen.. who am I forgetting!”

“Our favorite.” Hercules kissed you head, his laugh vibrated against your back.

“Who?” Alex said desperately.

“Me.” You grinned, a teasing smile on your face. He mouth ‘o’ before sighing in relief.

“Chase, Lucas, Oliver, Charlie, Percy, Scott, Tyler, Dylan, Theo, Mason, Roy, Conner, Cory, Liam, Benny and Y/N.” He breathed, closing his eyes. “Thank god.”

“It worries me you forgot the name of our girlfriend who’s family we’re visiting.” John threw a pillow at Alexander’s head.

“Tell me stories of little Y/N!” Herc pouted. You huffed.

“I fended for myself at the dinner table, earned the eldest’s respect, in my household, it’s eat or be eaten.” You joked, a serious expression on your face. “I doubt you guys’ll survive dinner unless we eat out.”

“I don’t think I like this story.”

“I’m joking.. sort of. You’ll probably like my siblings.. Probably.” You hummed.

“Story Time!” Alex yelled, clapping hysterically like a seal. You groaned, throwing John a shirt from your suitcase.

“Tyler, Dylan, Theo, Mason, Roy, the twins, Liam, and Benny are the ones you really have to worry about.” You tilted you head, thinking about it. “They pull the most pranks, since they’re the youngest.”

“Only like half of your brothers.” Herc commented, earning your glare.

“Chase through Scott are okay. They’ll be more interested in making fun of me. And Lucas is going to be the most sane because of his kids.” You turned back to the four of them, narrowing your eyes.

“Don’t you have packing to do?” You asked, putting a pair of shoes in your bag. “We aren’t coming back for a week.”

“I’ll pack tomorrow.” Alex procrastinated in nothing but if had something to do with clothing, he wouldn’t even think about it.

“Alexandre we’re leaving tomorrow.” Laf’s inner mother hen was coming out. “Go pack.” He ordered, shoving the smaller man off his lap.

Alex simply responded with a loud screech.

“Alexander Hamilton do not make me go call Angelica!” You spun around, making him go silent and freeze.

Angelica Schuyler was the by far the level-headed, most impowering woman you had ever met.. Unless one of your boyfriends was acting up. Hercules and Lafayette were smart, they knew about Angelica’s signature ear grabbing, John and Alex on the other hand weren’t as careful. They often forgot she was there and start leaving hickeys and pinching each other. In simplest form:

Angelica did not like that.

“I’m good, I’ll go pack.” He squeaked, tripping as he sprung off the bed and out of the room.

“Well that’s one way to get things done.” Hercules held in a laugh watching Alexander stumble around.

“'Ow you say ‘whipped’.” Laf said, zipping John’s finally packed suitcase.

“The Angelica Card always works.”

7:02 am.

“It’s too early!” John whined, rubbing his eyes.

“Suck it up, Buttercup.” You pressed you lips to his temple. “You can sleep through the flight, it’s going to be about two hours till we land.”

You were sitting in between Hercules, who had the isle seat, and John who was by the window. Alex and Lafayette were behind you and John talking quickly in French. You only caught a few words, hearing your parents’ names as well as your own and your siblings.

“No! Sleep is for the weak..” He quickly lowered his voice, remembering he was on an airplane. “Oops.” John’s outburst was greeted with many ‘shh’s.

“Fine, but the ride to the lake is another two hours, so you better sleep then.” You reminded him, fiddling with your earbuds. “My family is going to be exhausting.”

“Maybe you should be the one sleeping, Princess.” Hercules chuckled, lacing his fingers with yours. “You seemed more stressed than Alex.”

“HEY!”

“SHH!”

“Yeah, Alex.” You teased, looking back at him and Lafayette.

9:34 am.

“You don’t know true power until you’ve had six three-hour energy drinks and a large cup of coffee with four shots of espresso.” Alexander was bouncing up and down, sitting on the baggage cart that was filled with your many suitcases.

“Never again..” Hercules murmured, rubbing his forehead.

“I’m banning Alex from Starbucks for the week.” You sighed, watching him let out a squeal of glee as Laf pushed the cart.

“He will die without coffee.” John commented. He hadn’t taken your advice and spent the entire flight playing flappy bird. He was mostly leaning on you for support.

You clicked you tongue against the roof of your mouth. “Without Starbucks no, he’ll just suffer, my mom makes an amazing coffee-caramel ice cream that no one can miss out on.”

“Sugaarr..” John moaned, banging his head against your shoulder. You laughed, kissing his forehead.

“ALEXANDER HAMILTON!” Lafayette yelled, running after Alex who was riding the cart down the slope of the parting lot. Laf must of let go of the cart at some point which was definitely not a good idea.

“That ended badly when Cory and Conner did that.” You remembered the stitches and the broken nose they received after the incident.

“Aww!”

You silently thanked Laf for catching him.

“You’re no fun!” He whined as he was scooped off the cart. “That was entertaining!”

“Ne discutez pas avec moi, Alexandre.” Lafayette threw his boyfriend over his shoulder and continued to push the luggage.

“That’s the car.” Hercules pointed to the black Chevrolet that’s lights were blinking.

“It’s like an FBI car!“John exclaimed excitedly, dragging you toward it. “It’s so shiny!”

“I’m surrounded by children.” Herc mumbled, face-palming.

“Alright, alright.” You ‘shh'ed your boyfriends. “John you aren’t driving, you are sleeping the entire drive.” You instructed, opening the backseat door. “In.”

He raised his hands in surrender, entering the car.

“Alex no way in hell are you driving, you’ve consumed way too much caffeine.” Laf was facing the opposite direction so you could talk to Alex, who was still being carried.

“I take offense to that!” He crossed his arms. You raised an eyebrow, seeing if he wanted to argue with you, which he didn’t. Alex quickly was put down and he retreated to the car.

“I’ll drive if you put the address in, Princess.” Hercules said, shoving the last of the suitcases into the trunk. “I don’t mind.”

“Thank god because I will get road rage and I will yell.” You sighed in relief, quickly kissing him and Laf on the lips.

“Mon Amour, we know, that’s why he offered.” Lafayette grinned, helping you in the car next to Alex, John was already falling asleep on his boyfriend’s lap.

“Fair enough.” You yawned, buckling your seat. You have Herc your address, feeling your eyes lids grow heavy.

11:24 am.

“Hey, Babygirl.” John lightly cupped his hands together, waking you. His voice was nervous. “Time to get up, little one.” You yawned, reaching you arms out as you stretched.

“What’d I miss?” You sat up, arching you back.

“I followed the GPS to the address.” Herc said from the drivers seat. “But I might of taken a wrong turn, because there’s nothing here.” You looked outside.

The car was on a familiar gravel road. Willow trees were hanging over, the swaying leaves hitting to car lightly.

“You did perfect, I can get us there from here.”

“I’m not complaining.” Alex said from above you. He had climbed through the sunroof and was sitting atop of the car. “It’s nice out here, really quiet.” You smiled, glad he was actually relaxing.

“Mon amour, do you mind driving? I think our Hercules needs a break.” Laf kissed Herc’s forehead. He did look tired, you nodded.

“It’s probably best I get us there anyway.” You opened the door, stepping out. The air was fresh, and warm due to the sun. It was different that New York, not filled with different smells, just the clear scent of summer.

Sunshine. A soft breeze. Wildflowers.

“Thank you.” Herc said sleepily, getting out of the drivers seat.

“It’ll be another thirty minutes till we get there, sleep.” You instructed him, kissing his cheek. “Alex, you should probably get back inside.” Alex did not get back inside.

“Honey come back in the car.” John whined, tugging on his boyfriend’s foot.

“But it’s nice up here.” He protested.

"Alexandre.” Laf said in a gentle, but warning tone. Alex panicked and jumped back in the car. Lafayette did have that effect on people.

The rest of the drive was quiet, Alex head was out the window, Herc was using John as a pillow, Laf was placing small kisses across the back of your hand and wrists.

You parked the stone pathway, that winded along the lake. The house wasn’t yet visible, shielded by the gardens around it. You could see some of your siblings on the docks, who were noticing the new car pulling up.

“Uh,” you clasped your hands together, gaining your boyfriends’ attention. You sent an apologetic look on your face towards Hercules since he was sleeping. “I want you guys to know.. my family has a different amount of money than most families.”

“We don’t care how much money your family has, Mon amour.” Laf pressed his lips to your fist. “We love you, and we’ll love your family.” You inhaled.

“Okay, and I’m just forewarning you on this one, their sort of crazy.”

“Don’t stall, Babygirl.” John teased.

"Oh my god! We can go swimming! Is that a speedboat?” Alex was bouncing up and down in his seat.

“Y/N!” Your brothers waved frantically from the docks.

“We could turn back now.. They aren’t very athletic.” You said, opening the door and stepping out of the car. The warm sun hitting your skin instantly.

You pulled out a familiar red whistle from your pocket.

“Is that a rape whistle?” Alex asked, popping his head out from the sunroof once again. You laughed, shaking your head.

“You’ll see.”

“That’s another boat? Do you own that one? What about that big floaty thing? Do you own that too? How about the-”

You pressed the whistle to your lips, blowing as hard on it as possible.

“HOLY FUCK!” John covered his ears, then looked around frantically, as if he was being watched. “I probably shouldn’t have said that around here.”

“That should summon them.” You put the whistle back in your jean pocket. “There’ll be a stampede in the house, so I think she should leave our bags here for now. If your ready to meet a family from your nightmares, right this way.”

“I really do hope your lying.” Laf blinked, watching your brothers that were on the docks dash into the house.

“This fountain is bigger than our kitchen.” Hercules stared in awe of the marble fountain.

“Screw the fountain!” Alex said, wildly gesturing back and forth from the fountain to the docks. “That speed boat is bigger than our entire apartment!”

“Is that a horse?”

“Moving this way.” You said, trying to change to conversation. You lead them down another gravel path that lead to your house. “You’ll probably sleep in my room, my bed is big enough.” You informed them.“

“Can we go swimming?”

Alex was probably the most excited about being on the lake. He was from the Virgin Islands and New York didn’t have the cleanest waters so he had to stick with pools. He was thrilled to be near the water and you could already picture the red sunburn he was going to receive after not wearing sunscreen.

“Yes, we can go swimming.”

“But the horses-”

“We can do that later.” You stared at the gardens that surrounded half of the house in a semicircle.

You grew up with a wealthy family. Your parents made a lot of money. They also wanted a big family. They exceeded the ‘normal’ amount of children by having thirteen more kids.

“Chase, Lucas, Oliver, Charlie, Percy, Scott, Tyler, Dylan, Theo, Mason, Roy, Conner, Cory, Liam, Benny and Y/N.” Alex murmured again, kicking rocks under his foot.

“Scarlett, McKenna, Diana, and Marco.” John added, taking his boyfriend’s hand. “And then William, Hunter, Zara, Kylie, Owen, and Lydia.”

“Jemma and Stephen are your parents.” Laf finished.

“Why thank you, now I know all of my family member’s names.” You said sarcastically but a large grin was spread across your face.

You were happy, this was your childhood home. You grew up going to this house every summer. And this week, you got to not only share it with your family but your boyfriends as well.

You stepped up to the front door, turning back to your boyfriends. You inhaled once more, telling yourself to relax.

You smiled at your partners. “Welcome to hell.”

Okay thank god I finished this today. I will definitely update next week. I hope you enjoyed and honestly I’m super jumpy right now and sorta bored now that I’m posting this because it’s only been two hours and thirty minutes since I got in the 'Space Mountain’ ride at DisneyWorld. Okay *inhale* thank you for reading.

#polyhamilsquad x reader hamilsquad x reader #hamilton x reader #laurens x reader #mulligan x reader #lafayette x reader #freckledandfighting

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collectorscorner · 4 years ago

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CC Blogger - New Arrivals @ Collectors Corner : Wednesday 9/9/20 Collectors Corner Parkville - HQ : OPEN for IN STORE SHOPPING with Strong Safety Measures in Place (Hand Sanitizing Stations, Masks Required for All, Social Distancing Required, Limited Capacity, CURBSIDE Pick Up Optional) - According to Baltimore County Guidelines. 1-410-668-3353. CC Parkville - NEW 2020 STORE HOURS, Sunday 12-6, Mon-Tues 12-7, Wed 9-8, Thurs 11-7, Friday & Saturday 11-8 Collectors Corner - Bel Air Outpost Location : OPEN for IN STORE SHOPPING with Strong Safety Measures in Place (Hand Sanitizing Stations, Masks Required for All, Social Distancing Required, Limited Capacity, CURBSIDE Pick Up Optional) - According to Harford County Guidelines. 1-410-838-1777. CC Bel Air -NEW 2020 STORE HOURS, Sunday 11-5, Monday/Tuesday - Closed, Wednesday 11-8, Thursday 11-7, Friday/Saturday 11-8 Complete list of items shipping to the stores, some items may be limited in availability. If you see anything you want to purchase on the list and are not a subscription member at Collectors Corner, just contact us and let us know if you want an item held at the stores. email - [email protected] Subscription Membership & Free Membership Card : Collectors Corner's No Obligation (FREE) Membership Card or FREE (In Store) & ONLINE Subscription Membership saves you 10% Off ALL Bagged & Boarded Comic Book Back Issues, Board Games, Graphic Novels, Manga & Special Orders. Plus Never miss a comic again! Computerized and organized + you can add and cancel titles on your subscription list from home on your own time, or in the store when you pick up your comics at : Maryland's Coolest Stores! Since 2001. 2 Super Cool & Convenient Locations - CC PARKVILLE - HEADQUARTERS 7911 Harford Rd Parkville, MD 21234 & CC BEL AIR - OUTPOST 17 N. Main St. Bel Air, MD 21014 www.collectorscornermd.com PUBLISHER/TITLE/PRICE

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inthecoldmorningair-blog · 7 years ago

Text

Music Choices - Ice Dance (so far)

AUSTRALIA Kimberly Hew-Low & Timothy McKernan FD: Exogenesis Matilda Friend & William Badaoui FD: Love Story AZERBAIJAN Anastasia Galyeta & Avidan Brown FD: Cabaret CANADA Marjorie Lajoie & Zachary Lagha FD: Dream (Imagine Dragons) Alicia Fabbri & Claudio Pietrantonio SD: Historia de un Amor; Sweet Like Cola (Lou Bega) FD: El Tango de Roxanne (Moulin Rouge!, comp. Craig Armstrong) Ashlynne Stairs & Lee Royer SD: I Like It Like That (The Blackout All-Stars) FD: A Monster in Paris; La Seine and I (A Monster in Paris) Carolane Soucisse & Shane Firus SD: Bailando, El perdedor, Let me be your lover - Enrique Iglesias FD: Cheek to cheek & I won't dance - Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett Ellie Fisher & Simon Pierre Malette-Paquette FD: La Strada (comp. Nino Rota) Jessica Li & Jacob Richmond FD: Runaway; Conqueror (Aurora) Irina Galiyanova & Tommy Tang SD: Dance With Me (Debelah Morgan) FD: Waltz in the Rain (Shin Jae Young) Valerie Taillefer & Jason Chan SD: Skip to the Bip FD: Closer Than Sisters (Penny Dreadful, comp. Abel Korzeniowski); A Boat to Argentina (Amen, comp. Armand Amar) Jade McCue & Gabriel Clemente SD: Ole Ole Ole (Ricky Martin); I Need to Know (Marc Anthony) FD: Another Day of Sun; City of Stars (Duet); Someone in the Crowd (La La Land, comp. Justin Hurwitz) Olivia Han & Grayson Lochhead SD: I Need to Know (Marc Anthony) FD: Selections from Pirates of the Caribbean (comp. Hans Zimmer) Cassidy McFarlane & Kameron Jeromkin SD: Sway Sarah Arnold & Thomas Williams SD: Besame Mucho FD: Fall for You (Leela James); If I Ain’t Got You (Alicia Keys feat. Usher) Natascha Collier & Philippe Marchand SD: Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps (Pussycat Dolls) FD: Overture; Beauty and the Beast (Beauty and the Beast, comp. Alan Menken) Natalie D'Alessandro & Bruce Waddell SD: I Need to Know (Marc Anthony); Let’s Get Loud (Jennifer Lopez) FD: Your Song (Ellie Goulding); Your Song (Moulin Rouge!, perf. Ewan McGregor) Leia Dozzi & Liam Fawcett SD: Addicted to You ; Don’t Stop the Party (Pitbull feat. TJR) FD: Vinegar & Salt; Amalfi (Hooverphonic) Vanessa Chartrand & Alexander Seidel SD: Samba Pa’ Ti; Oye Como Va (Santana) FD: Lament; You Must Love Me; Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina (Evita, comp. Andrew Lloyd Webber) Gina Cipriano & Jake Richardson FD: Merry Go Round (Howl’s Moving Castle, comp. Joe Hisaichi) Molly Lanaghan & Dmitre Razgulajevs FD: Selections from Mary Poppins (comp. the Sherman Brothers) Katrine Roy & Oliver Zhang FD: Tango Theadora Sauve & Alexandre Faucher FD: Anything Goes; But Beautiful; It Don’t Mean a Thing (perf. Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga) Haley Sales & Nikolas Wamsteeker FD: Out of Africa soundtrack Nina Mizuki & Veniamins Volskis FD: Arrietty’s Song; Sho’s Song (Arrietty, Cecile Corbel) Katerina Kasatkin & Corey Circelli SD: Mujer Latina (Thalia) FD: Faded (Alan Walker feat. Iselin Solheim) Olivia McIsaac & Elliott Graham SD: Quizás, Quizás, Quizás ; Angelina (Lou Bega) FD: Let It Be Me (Ray LaMontagne); What I Wouldn’t Do (Serena Ryder) Kaitlyn Chubb & Alex Gunther SD: Billie Jean - Michael Jackson FD: True colors by Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick; September by Earth, Wind and Fire Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje FD: Spartacus (comp. Aram Khachaturian); choreography by Lori Nichol and Linda Garneau CZECH REPUBLIC Nicole Kuzmichova & Alexandr Sinicyn SD: Magalenha - Antonio Carlos; Fly Love - Jamie Fox; Mas Que Nada - Jorge Ben FD: Cabaret (Willkommen; Money; Mein Herr) - John Kander FINLAND Cecilia Torn & Jussiville Partanen FD: Funny Face; I've Got A Crush On You FRANCE Marie Jade Lauriault & Romain Le Gac SD: "September" & "How deep is your love" FD: Another one bites the dust - Queen Loicia Demougeot & Théo Le Mercier SD: El Pescador by Totó La Momposina; La Collegiala by Rodolfo y su Tipica FD: Light of the Seven by Ramin Djawadi; Strange by Apollo G'eeze Natacha Lagouge & Corentin Rahier SD: "Oye como va" & "Frío sin ti" - Navajita plateá FD: Theme : the life of Coco Chanel [Little Black Baby - Scott Joplin (ragtime); (tango); Tema per una donna sola by Ennio Morricone (waltz); Cocomotion by El Coco (disco) GERMANY Katharina Müller & Tim Dieck SD: Dibby Dibby (Samba); I am not the only one - Sam Smith (Rhumba); Campo Grande (Samba) FD: Bodyguard musical soundtrack Kavita Lorenz & Joti Polizoakis SD: Aguanile - M. Anthony (Salsa); Mil Pasos - Soha (Remix) (Rhumba); Quimbara - C. Cruz (Salsa) GREAT BRITAIN Penny Coomes & Nicholas Buckand SD: Remix of Rhumba D'Amour by Torvill and Dean, choreography by Christopher Dean FD: Battle Remembered - Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, choreography by Christopher Dean Sasha Fear & George Waddell FD: Coldplay Medley (Sky full of stars; Fix You; Viva la vida) Leticia Marsh & Elliot Verburg FD: Moulin Rouge ISRAEL Isabella Tobias & Ilia Tkachenko SD: Shape of You - Ed Sheeran ; She Will Be Loved - Rhythms del Mundo ; Fireball - Pitbull FD: Samson et Dalila-Camille Saint-Saëns ITALY Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri SD: Salsa; Rhumba; Samba FD: Exogenesis Symphony Part III - Muse Jasmine Tessari & Francesco Fioretti FD: La Tosca - G. Puccini JAPAN Kana Muramoto & Chris Reed FD: Music Medley from Ryuichi Sakamoto Misato Komatsubara & Tim Koleto SD: Ahora Quien - Marc Anthony; Samba do Brasil (Radio Remix) - Bellini FD: Yentl soundtrack (“Where is it Written?” and “A Piece of the Sky”); Sabrina soundtrack ( John Williams’ instrumental End Credits) LATVIA Aurelija Ippolito & Malcolm Jones FD: Alex Clare - Damn Your Eyes; Cover of Tainted Love POLAND Natalia Kaliszek & Maksym Spodyriev SD: mix of Luis Fonsi, Prince Royce & Shakira FD: swing, quickstep and foxtrot or waltz RUSSIA Anastasia Shpilevaya & Grigory Smirnov SD: Cha Cha (Tom Jones Kiss) and samba (Dominó-Baila Baila Comigo) FD: Love Story; choreographer Irina Zhuk Anastasia Skoptsova & Kirill Aleshin SD: rhumba, Cha-cha, salsa FD: Tango (Vuelvo Al Sur, Paris, Texas – Gotan Project) Sofia Shevchenko & Igor Eremenko SD: cha cha and samba - MC Mario (Let's Cha Cha), Max Sedgley (Happy) FD: Drehz (Heart Cry); Yann Tiersen (La Boulange) Sofia Polishchuk & Alexander Vakhnov FD: Black Swan Sofia Evdokimova & Egor Bazin FD: Ave Maria Victoria Sinitsina & Nikita Katsalapov FD: Vocalise, Piano concerto nr.2 - Rachmaninoff SOUTH KOREA Yura Min & Alexander Gamelin SD: Despacito - Luis Fonsi; My All - Mariah Carey; Mujer Latina - Thalia FD: Arirang Alone - Sohyang SPAIN Olivia Smart & Adria Diaz FD: "A Mans World" & "Natural Woman" Sara Hurtado & Kirill Khalyavin SD: Santana FD: Don Quixote (Flamenco), Choreography by Antonio Najarro USA Christina Carreira & Anthony Ponomarenko SD: "Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps" - Pussycat Dolls; "Conga" - Gloria Estefan FD: Dance for Me Wallis; Abdication (comp. Abel Korzeniowski) Julia Biechler & Damien Dodge SD: Into You (Ariana Grande); I Know You Want Me (Pitbull) FD: American Woman (Lenny Kravitz); I Put a Spell On You (Joe Cocker); Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes) Rachel Parsons & Michael Parsons SD: Everybody’s Got to Love Sometime FD: South American music, based on the contemporary ballet “Ghost Dances” by Inti-Illimani Lorraine McNamara & Quinn Carpenter SD: Mambo Italiano FD: Argentine Tango [Anime Contro Vento by Medialuna Tango Project] Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue SD: "Cuando Calienta el Sol" - Talya Ferro; "Le Serpent" - Guem FD: Across the Sky Instrumental - Rag N' Bone Man; Caught Out In the Rain - Beth Hart Madison Chock & Evan Bates FD: La la Land, Choreography by Christopher Dean Elliana Pogrebinsky & Alex Benoit SD: "Baddest Girl in Town" (Pitbull feat. Mohombi and Wisin);"Lo So Che Finera" (Anna Tatangelo); "Bailar" (Deorro feat. Elvis Crespo) FD: Desire (Rock Blues) [I Put a Spell on You (perf. Annie Lennox); original composition] Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani SD: Perez Prado FD: Coldplay: Paradise Karina Manta & Joseph Johnson SD: Right Now (Pussycat Dolls); Fireball (Pitbull feat. John Ryan) FD: Moulin Rouge ("One Day I'll Fly Away" and "Your Song" - perf. Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman); Choreography by Christopher Dean Kaitlin Hawayek & Jean-Luc Baker FD: Liebestraum (last season's FD) Eliana Gropman & Ian Somerville FD: "Nyah" and flamenco music (Tangos de la Repompa by Susi) Alina Efimova & Alexander Petrov Somerville FD: Umbrellas of Cherbourg Claire Purnell & Lucas Purnell FD: Fiddler on the Roof Katarina DelCamp & Maxwell Gart FD: Motown music ("I Feel Good" and "Try a Little Tenderness") Isabella Amoia & Luka Becker FD: Michael Meets Mozart - Piano Guys Chloe Lewis & Logan Bye FD: Child of Light OST by Coeur de Pirate Avonley Nguyen & Vadym Kolesnik SD: cha cha, rhumba, and mambo rhythms FD: West Side Story Molly Cesanek & Nikolay Usanov FD: Romeo & Juliet Sophia Elder & Christopher Elder FD: Alice in Wonderland soundtrack Amanda Miller & Daniel Tsarik FD: Four Seasons Daria Popova & Cameron Colucci FD: La La Land soundtrack Nicolette Fey & Caleb Niva FD: A Thousand Years - Christina Perri Caroline Green & Gordon Green FD: Prince Igor; Stranger in Paradise - Sarah Brightman Jocelyn Haines & James Koszuta FD: Sinatra Medley Allie Rose & JT Michel FD: Bonnie and Clyde theme

#2017-2018 #music choices #ice dance

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lizzybeth1986 · 6 years ago

Text

Quick Thoughts on Book 3, Chapter 14

• Apologies for the delay, guys. Still recovering.

• It's time for our Ball! YAY.

• ...and for Hana's parents. Not so yay.

• Every LI in the group has at least one not-very-ideal parent. For Liam and Maxwell it's their dads (though Bartalemy seems to be the best of the four) and for Drake and Hana it's their mums.

• Title: Welcome, One and All!

• Alternate Titles should include This Chapter Is Brought To You By Jeffery.

• For those who don't remember the TRR pre-release interviews, Jeffery is the dude who loves hats:

I'm pretty sure this chapter is his baby.

• So technically Xinghai and Lorelai have not kept in touch with Hana since her fight with Xinghai in Shanghai (that rhymes). There is a hint that she might have tried to reach out to them before the tour if you were getting engaged to her (she asks Ana de Luca to send the copies of her shoot to an address, which I presume was her home in Shanghai).

•

You bet I slammed that last option.

• There's also not a lot of difference in this scene between the Hana playthrough and the non-Hana one, and there should have been. The dynamics of this discussion will - should - be different if you're Hana's fiancée. They have Lorelai and Hana's dialogues change if you're marrying her at the end, but technically that's unavoidable. There should have been an obvious difference in dialogue here as well.

• Bertrand has returned. Again.

• AND HE'S LATE. Apparently because his son needs to be coached on proper cutlery placement through the babysitter.

• We have a brief tete-a-tete about Savannah and Bartie before moving on to our OOTD:

Tbh I think I'm okay with both. I had my reservations about the neck but I also like capes so I will take it. The traditional dove one makes you look like Red Riding Hood.

If you choose the phoenix gown, you also get to don a humongous hat, and you get the option to take it off anytime.

Esther loves hats. She's a happy happy camper xD She may not have said those 'fancy hat's comments to Regina in Book 1 but you bet she was thinking them! So Esther - and I as Esther's creator - feel validated and vindicated and all other sorts of v words 😄

• Also yes, Esther, I'm pretty sure that hat ate every other hat in Cordonia before making its way to your head.

• It's now time for our Ball, and our LIs are waiting for us to make our entrance. Liam calls you 'a heroine of myth and song', Maxwell tells you you're 'on fire', Drake asks him if you're trying to give him a heart attack, and Hana settles for a very simple 'you look gorgeous'.

• Okay yadda yadda announcements, yadda yadda speech, yadda yadda complimentes from guests esp if you chose the phoenix decor, yadda accolades all around.

• Basically the main conversations taking place at the Ball are with Madeleine, Kiara, Regina, Mara and Olivia.

- Madeleine: Mainly to close the main loop of Madeleine's role as press secretary. The previous conversation with Liam/Drake at the Lythikos Ball is implied when you choose to call her a snake, even though she sees that as a compliment.

- Kiara: You get to either call her brave, or to ask her about her well-being. Thankfully, she is able to at least sleep at night now. They're definitely wrapping up Kiara's story here. Which is okay, I'm pretty certain it wasn't meant to be manifested in the first place and I suppose I'm expected to be grateful she got some attention. But I won't be, because she deserved this - and perhaps better. I couldn't care less for her brother and would rather not see him again but at least they had the decency to wrap up her storyline first this time rather than ignore it in favour of him completely.

- One of my favourite sequences is the one with Regina. She's clearly affected by Constantine's death and still hasn't recovered enough to get used to the idea of attending a Ball without his presence yet. But you also see her struggling with the stoicism she's been brought up on, and chastising herself because she can't. You have the choice of either asking her what Constantine would have told her if he were alive (like hell I'll choose that option!) or telling her she should allow herself to grieve. I thought her parting words in this conversation were beautiful.

- Mara: From Mara we learn that the Nevrakis family had connections with the Sons of Earth, and that in fact Anton is the son of the leader of that group. I've seen some interesting theories around this, one of which is (I believe this one is @alicars theory) that he is Francesco's son. Which...would make that first meeting in Italy quite interesting, as well as the reveal that Francesco was friends with Liam's mother. Will Liam's mother's background be brought up in future chapters??

- Olivia: So this is what all our efforts to win Olivia over culminates into! I have such Diavolos vibes with this scene (not the betrayal bit, but the winning their trust bit. Olivia I think sticks by Liam's side whether she likes you or not), because if you look at the TCaTF ally chart in Book 3, Diavolos' name is the last on the list of people to join you, even though he has spent time with you as an ally and been part of the rescue mission to save Mind Control!Dom. In a lot of ways, while Olivia has a huge connection to Liam and becomes your ally on that score, it requires effort and some ice-breaking to get her to fully support you.

• Say hello to my new pets y'all!

As of now Esther has a horse named Celestia, a corgi names Joy, a visiting hawk named Tiberius, a black panther named Cava and two red pandas she has named Hansel and Gretel.

• I wonder if you have the ensuing group scene if you don't choose to accept the red pandas (I'd see for myself but the red pandas have really adorable sad faces).

• The group scene is alright, it's a lot like the one in Shanghai with the pandas. Liam is adorable and holds them like a pro, Maxwell is super super SUPER excited, Hana is shocked by their lack of manners (Hana they're animals!) in comparison to pandas and Drake is a mean meanie. You have Zeke on the side giving us factual animal info.

• We're now back at the estate, and Hana's folks have arrived.

• TO TAKE HANA BACK???

• Hana puts up a good fight against her mum (let's be honest, Xinghai hardly seems to have a say in this. He looks sad about this and barely gets in a sentence. This show is all Lorelai's), and refuses to come with them, at which point Lorelai insists on taking her belongings away since they belong to the Lee family, and she isn't a Lee anymore.

• You know what I want Hana to say?

"FINE KEEP THE CRUMMY LUGGAGE MOM LETS SEE IF YOU CAN MAKE ANOTHER WHOLEASS CHILD OUT OF THAT"

• Please tell me she gets to kick Lorelai's ass this chapter. Please.

• So the Ball and festival will continue this chapter, and I'm guessing that any drama might happen later on in the Capitol if we go by the trajectory of the previous books. The places most closely connected to the MC - Ramsford, New York, Valtoria - are usually where you forget briefly the tension in the books, before being plunged into complete and total chaos.

• I still think there's a LOT we have left to find out. A LOT.

• There is a possibility that Hana will get a diamond scene post her confrontation with her parents. And as far as I can see it, this is the culmination of her entire journey, her entire struggle. This is the last shot the writers have at doing justice to her character, and giving her a good scene. If Hana doesn't get an extremely fulfilling, nuanced scene - one that has a marked difference between her as a fiancee and her as a friend - then I doubt she will get another one. They will have lost their chance to be fair to this character.

• And if they fail to do justice to this character...I'm afraid that will be the end for me. I may be chapter reviews and essays, I may still write stuff inspired by this book...but whatever love I still have for TRR will be lost for good.

• Because you know what you're telling me, a brown woman with an upbringing not entirely unlike Hana's? Who loves this character and has to now try to relate to her because her own writers didn't give me enough material? You're telling me that you don't think stories like Hana's - stories like mine - are worth attention, worth nuance, worth telling properly, worth telling with heart. You're telling me women like Hana are alright as tokens, but not important enough as characters. You're telling me you want the accolades that go with using women of colour in your stories, but don't want to put in the work. In fact...you're already telling me that. You've been telling me that for the last two books.

• I'm sincerely hoping this will change with the chapter I will play now, and that I and other Hana stans don't walk away from this chapter disappointed. I really, really do. It won't completely make up for the lack of care they have given this character...but it will be SOMETHING.

• With that, I'm going to go into this week's chapter, folks. Seeya!

#the royal romance #long post #king liam #drake walker #hana lee #maxwell beaumont #lady kiara #queen regina #olivia nevrakis #trr quick thoughts #quick thoughts #valtoria #cordonia

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