#(like I am not pregnant right now but it sounds like an excellent idea to do pregnancy specific physical therapy so it's less hellish)

[etirabys]

81k and I are a weird match. he seems like a 10x engineer to me (hard to tell from the outside, of course) but he thinks software is kind of an arbitrary specialization and yearns to be good at drawing. whereas I'm moderately good at art but think it's approximately a worthless skill that it's almost, like, sinful to invest more into in, and software is the true test of my intellect and character which I have failed

[daysofourlivesrecaps]

Friday 16 June 2023

Yesterday, I was left with the distinct impression that the table was being set for some really great drama. Today, I am sad to report that this table has been cleared, disassembled and fed into a wood chipper.

First up: Belle and Shawn. Shawn hasn’t drunk enough beer to forget about shooting his dad into a coma, so now he’s moved on to the harder stuff. Belle does not approve.

Honestly, Drunk and Sassy Shawn (example dialogue: “do you know how hard it was to find a store that would sell me vodka at 8am?”) is substantially more interesting to me than Standard Issue Shawn, who mostly stands around looking sad and handsome.

Back at the DiMera household, Harris is still here, confronting Megan. This was the thing I was most excited about yesterday. And since I already told you that I found today’s episode disappointing, I suppose you can work out that he didn’t kidnap her like he promised Kate he would. But we’ll get to that in a minute.

Also held over from yesterday: Dimitri showing up at Gwen (and Leo)’s hotel room to give her flowers. Still kind of a sweet gesture, despite the fact that we know Dimitri’s ulterior motives.

Then Leo intervenes and, questioning Dimitri’s ulterior motives, throws the flowers in the trash. Which is a bit rude, even for Leo. Gwen is suitably mortified.

Leo retaliates with “I’m trying to protect you,” which is sweet and all, but… Gwen is one of a handful of characters who is pretty much constantly fucking someone. Only there hasn’t been anyone for her for weeks. So she tells Leo to take a hike. So she can fuck.

Then she and Dimitri kiss. Which, if I know my sex, is an excellent first step!

Meanwhilst, Kristen and EJ are still tied to chairs in the Wine Cellar that We Sometimes Pretend Nobody Knows about. I don’t have a whole lot of jokes for this bit — I’ve backtracked and watched pretty much every episode that this iteration of EJ has been in, and I’ve always been a bit disappointed that he and his sister have never really had any good scenes together. They do a considerable amount of bonding here — mostly over the fact that their newly discovered sister Megan is a fucking maniac, even for a DiMera — and I’m a fan.

Not a fan of EJ being tied up instead of coming with her to the baby specialist: Nicole. Kayla assures her that the specialist is definitely here in this hospital and is not just her (Kayla) in a different lab coat and a wig (what is this, Body and Soul?!)

Nicole sends another frantic text to EJ. Then thirty more.

Then she runs into Belle, who just blurts out that she knows Nicole is pregnant. We’ve come a long way from the eighteen months or so that we were pretending this was a secret that only Nicole and Anna knew about. Okay, so it was only like a week or two. But it sure felt like eighteen months.

Belle’s pretty rude and thoughtless to Nicole about the whole thing (probably because she has her dumb drunk husband on her mind), but I only just felt my first twinge of sympathy for Nicole like yesterday so I’m going to allow it.

Sloan and Eric are still talking about the possibility of having a baby together. Which still sounds like a colossally bad idea to me. But nobody ever asks me, despite the implication I just made about having the power to allow things.

They head down to the pub for breakfast. Then Kate insinuates herself into their conversation, Julie-like, and insists that they have a baby immediately. Nobody asked Kate either, to be clear. But she doesn’t have much going on, plot-wise right now and she has a very good instinct for staying involved in things despite that.

Okay, I’ve put this disappointment off long enough. Time to witness the monumental whizzing-it-down-their-leg that is Megan vs. Harris.

Harris, intent on kidnapping Megan and taking her to some undisclosed location where she’ll be no tribble at all, reaches for his gun.

Then stupid drunk idiot Shawn walks in for absolutely no reason apart from the fact that he’s stupid and drunk and an idiot.

Naturally he assumes these two are still in cahoots, since their previous cahoots are what resulted in his dad’s troubles. Well, the pre-being-shot-by-Shawn part of those troubles, anyway.

Harris tries to assure him that he’s good now (which is pretty much the only move he has right now, since he doesn’t have a Kate-like sense of how to stay engaged in the plot) and Megan takes this opportunity to pull her gun.

Shawn continues to provoke Megan, probably because of the whole “feels guilty that he shot his dad into a coma” thing. But Harris manages to de-escalate and the two of them leave. YESTERDAY THERE WERE LIKE HALF A DOZEN POTENTIALLY INTERESTING ANGLES TO THIS KIDNAPPING AND TODAY WE GET ZERO KIDNAPPINGS. I WANT MY MONEY BACK.

Megan, who has been referring to Harris as the Salem Protector, has this amazing Homer Simpsonesque line.

Then she looks at EJ’s phone, sees all the texts from Nicole and gives us amazing Lucille Bluthesque eye roll. If she’s gonna steal, at least she steals from the best.

She then sends a text to Dimitri, who’s just rounding first base with Gwen. DON’T FORGET TO FUCK THAT GIRL his mother says. This family is truly Having a Normal One.

Dimitri takes her advice, throws his phone away and throws Gwen down on the bed. For sex. So they avoided one disappointment this time, anyway.

Shawn returns home and weepily apologizes to Belle.

Kate yells at Harris for not kidnapping Megan. Kate, I didn’t agree with you on the “Sloan and Eric’s baby” thing, but you’re doing the lord’s work here. (I am the lord in this example.)

Then Nicole, walking home, runs into Eric because she literally can’t walk anywhere in this town without running into Eric. And Sloan brags to her that they’re going to have a baby, which is somehow even more aggressively dick-swinging behavior than when Eric and EJ nearly fought over the paternity of Nicole’s.

And that’s where we leave it. Sure. Fine. There’s always next week, I guess.

[glittersandsourcherries]

Can you write something about cassie getting an abortion in s1? maybe she's dating reader but the baby is her ex's

I'm very uncomfortable with pregnancies or anything baby related, so I made this into a blurb

-

''I think I'm pregnant- no. I am pregnant.''

The words that left your girlfriend's mouth had you blinking twice.

Cassie was pregnant.

Her big, blue eyes were red and teary, telling you she had been crying. ''No one can know about this, Y/N.''

You nodded. ''Is it...''

''McKay's? Yes.''

''Does he know?''

Cassie nodded slowly. She pulled her legs to her knees, sitting beside you on the couch in she and Lexi’s shared bedroom. ''He came over last night. He...he was a complete ass about it. He acted like he wasn't responsible for this, as if it was all my fault. He talked about himself and how he was in college and about football and his parents and-'' A tear slipped on her face and it angered you.

Although McKay was Cassie’s ex, you never had a tooth against him. He was an ass and cared more about his friends’s opinions than his girlfriend’s feelings, but he wasn’t a terrible person. 

''What a fucking asshole,'' you said, your opinion changing.

Cassie sniffled and wiped her tear. ''He told me to get an abortion.''

''Is that what you want to do?''

''Yeah.'' She laughed dryly. ''I mean, do I even have a choice?''

''Yes,'' you replied. ''You don't have to do what McKay say. The baby might be his, but you're the one carrying it. He's allowed to not want to be involved, but he doesn't get to tell you what to do. It's your choice, Cassie.''

You were going to be supportive regardless of her choice, but you didn't want her to feel forced to do as McKay said just because he was the father. Abortion is a big decision. You didn't want Cassie to follow a decision she didn't make herself and regret it for the rest of her life.

''I'm with you whatever you decides,'' you added.

She took a moment to think, pressing the pros and the cons in her corner. 

''I love the idea of becoming a mother. I think I've been secretly dreaming of it.'' Cassie smiled, thinking about how amazing it would be to have and raise a little baby, a small being you love unconditionally. Reality caught her and her face fell. ''But, having a baby wouldn't be a smart choice right now.''

''This is just bad timing. I'm sure you'll be an excellent mother, but not now.'' You kissed her temple.

She nodded. ''I got an appointment tomorrow at the clinic. My mom is coming with me. Can you...can you come too?''

''Of course, Cas.''

Unlike McKay, you wouldn't let her go alone. You never got an abortion, but it sounded scary must be an horrible and traumatizing experience to go through alone.

-

Tag-list:  @milkiane  @euphoricfeminine

[anaveragebibliophile]

Cyclical Love

Young!Legolas x Thranduil x Wife!Reader 

Summary: Following He Comes First, we’re left wondering how Thran will react to his wife’s second pregnancy. And while that’s important, the real question is this: will Legolas enjoy hearing about his sibling that’s on the way? Continue reading to find out. 

PART 1: 

https://anaveragebibliophile.tumblr.com/post/657925630710743040/he-comes-first 

PART 2 

“...pregnant,” Thran said, and if you weren’t mistaken, a little breathlessly. 

“That’s correct, darling. We’ll have another Legolas to snuggle and love on in a few month’s time. Another little elfling that will finally complete our family.” 

Your husband’s eyes then became as large as dinner plates as these specific facts relayed themselves via hippocampus. Not only was he recognizing that another kind, beautiful, and jovial winë (little one) would be joining them, but he also was understanding that this seemingly unattainable wish of having another child had been granted in a manner of seconds by Valar (God). “Sweetheart, this is excellent news. Really. You have no idea how astounded I am. I cannot wait to meet our newest addition, and I am sure Legolas will be jumping for joy when he discovers that he will have a sibling to share more of his affection with. Honestly, if I did not have our little leaf cuddled against my chest, you can bet that I would be kissing you senseless at this very moment.” 

Grinning, you moved away from the doorway and settled yourself against the right edge of the bed and placed your right hand on top of your husband’s left calf. “Gi melin (I love you), you know, and I can’t  wait to see you become a father a second time. You will continue to be remarkable in that position.” 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few weeks later, you found yourself reaching the fifth month of pregnancy. Although a bump hadn’t necessarily made itself noticeable, the other “benefits” of gestation took the opportunity to compensate for that deficit. For example, your hands and feet were achey and swollen beyond belief. So much so that you had to quit wearing your wedding band (which, keep in mind, was a point that was never reached during your pregnancy with Legolas). Also, the morning sickness reached a level of severity that you never experienced with your little leaf. It’s as if the little elfling inside of you is completely distrusting of any of the outside world’s delicacies and would much rather be nourished by your body’s nutrients. And while all of this was, indeed, tolerable (mainly because you knew the end result would be one of the most fruitful rewards of your and Thran’s existence) in your eyes, your son had a different outlook on the situation. Since you and your husand had decided to wait until you were further along before breaking the news, he couldn’t understand why his naneth wasn’t feeling well. Anytime you would shed a tear, he would shed one as well. And it was breaking your heart. 

“Thran,” you said, rubbing your tiny, almost imperceptible bump while looking in the mirror, “I think today’s the day that we share the good news with Legolas.”

Your husband came up behind you just then, wrapping his arms around your slowly, but steadily, growing stomach and setting his chin atop your head. “I believe you are right, sweetheart. Now that we are more certain the babe’s survival rate has increased, I think it is safe to let our son know that he will be a big brother soon.” 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entering your darling boy’s chambers later that day, you both planned to do just that. 

“Legolas,” you chimed as you watched him play with the crocheted elven soldier that so clearly resembled his father, “would you be able to put your toys away for a few moments. Nana and Ada would like to talk with you about something. Something important.”

At the sound of your voice, Legolas’ head snapped up and turned to view the two most fantastic people in all of Middle Earth. Almost automatically a smile framed his face. “Nana! Ada! I missed you both,” he said, running to jump into his father’s waiting arms. “Nana, are you feeling any better after your nap?”

“Yes, darling. I’m doing so much better. Thank you for asking.”

“Legolas, as your Nana said, we would like to discuss something with you.”

“Certainly, Ada. What is it about?” 

“Well, how about we sit on your bed and continue the conversation?”

Your son nodded, gesturing with his arms to be released from his father’s loving embrace. Once back in a bipedal position, he took both of his parents’ hands and guided them to his bed. And as he sat between you and Thran, the floodgate of questions opened: What are we going to be discussing? Am I in trouble? Is something wrong? 

Hastily, you tried to mitigate his fears. “Darling, everything is fine. I’m fine. Ada’s fine. No need to worry on that front.” 

“Alright. But then why do you need to talk with me?” 

“Well, we have some news that we think is very exciting,” Thran started, “and we believe it is the proper to time to let you hear it.”

Hearing this, Legolas perked right up. “What is it, Ada? Oh, please tell me.” 

“Iôn nîn (My son), you obviously know that your naneth has not been feeling her best. However, we have not told you the reason for that being the case. You see, a babe is currently residing in Nana’s tummy and will remain there for a few more months so he or she can grow. And when that time is up, you will have another sibling--a brother or a sister--to spread your love to.” 

After a few moments, moments in which you and your husband began to perspire from sheer nervousness, you felt two tiny lips kiss your cheek. “A brother or sister! Nana, Ada, this is the best surprise ever! Thank you, thank you so much,” your son shouted, his emotions creating personified versions of happiness, joy, and bliss. 

“Oh, we are so happy to see this anticipation, Legolas,” you said. “I know that this sweet babe cannot wait to meet you in the flesh.”

“Really?”

“But of course, little leaf,” Thran interjected. “You are such a special boy and will be such a wonderful role model for your brother or sister.” 

“Well, I hope so because I love them so much already. As much as I do you and Nana.”

[mendesblurb]

I’m With You

Shawn Mendes x female reader

Warning: angst, fluff, maybe grammar error and maybe some punctuation errors.

Note: So I know I said I will return on 26th, but just couldn’t resist haha. So here you go, this have been on the draft so yeah.. anyway just an update I am still anxious about my assignment but I will just try my best and hopefully everything will turn out well. Enjoy the story guys, sorry that it’s short.

The date night was an excellent idea. it was a much needed time away from all the possible work distractions.

Everything looked so good; the baked chicken Shawn made was surprisingly delicious, the meat was just so tender and delicately seasoned. The chocolate pie he bought for dessert was waiting to be cut, and the accompanying wine was supposed to complement the whole date perfectly.

All that sounds perfect but here you are distracted, playing with your fork and and cleary your mind was anywhere else but the story your boyfriend was telling.

“You had to be there, I swear the look on Brian’s face was just pricelesss and the best part of it all is—.”

"I'm late," you mumbled out.

Shawn felt confused and says, "So you got here ten minutes late. No, Big deal. You had to spend a little extra time at work, that’s normal.”

"Not that kind of late, Shawn."

"But that happens, right?" Shawn says, still implacable. "You've been under a lot of stress, back and forth to LA and New York, doing presentations... You need a day off. You need a week off. Spain is nice this time of year, or Specifically Mallorca..."

"No, Shawn." You say while preparing yourself for what you’re about to say next. "I am not stressed out. I can’t have and don’t need a vacation."

"Okay, I understand," Shawn says. "So what You need is to pee on a stick. And so, I'll be here holding your hand while we wait for the results."

"What? That’s it?” You respond, suddenly very pissed. "I tell you I could be pregnant, and all you have to say is go pee on a stick?"

"You're pissed," Shawn says. It's maddening, the way he states the obvious.

"Yeah. I’m pissed. This is the most terrified I have been in my entire life, and you act like it's no big deal."

This was actually a big deal for Shawn, but he knew he shouldn’t be freaking out right now. He knew he had to be the one to calm you down, but one thing for sure is that If you did end up pregnant, he will do anything to be with you every step of the way.

What kind of boyfriend would he be then, if he didn’t? He knew it wouldn’t be easy, but he would find every possible way to make sure you will not go though it alone.

"So you're mad because you're frightened and I'm not?"

“How could you not be frightened? We agreed to move in together last week, we are so young, you are in the middle of a worldwide tour, and are we even ready?”

Shawn could hear your voice going shrill of panic and So he stood up and put his hands on your shoulders as an attempt to calm you down. "We are just figuring out what to do with our lives, and this can’t be the reason we put our life at a pause.”

Shawn’s hands are firm on your shoulders, trying to calm down you down. "We'll figure this out, Y/N. We always figure things out. But first let's see if there is something to figure out, okay?"

"Okay," you sighed.

—————————-

Shawn never thought he’d be worriedly pacing outside the bathroom, waiting for his girlfriend to finish peeing so he could know if she was pregnant or not.

But here he was, in that exact situation.

The words, “How did this happen?” were a constant in his head, but he knew. Oh, he knew how and when it happened. It happened in a very pleasurable way, thank you very much—but now wasn’t exactly the time to think about that, not outside the bathroom of his home, waiting for—

He had to calm down, damn it. For your sake he knew he had to calm down.

Finally you head out of the bathroom and waited for possibly the longest three minutes of both of your lives.

Beep. Beep. Beep. The timer rings.

You lean against Shawn, as you breathe in and out slowly and read the results. The first test is negative. So is the second one, and the third one you insisted on taking just for good measure.

"Phew," you say.

"Phew," he echoes.

You look up at him questioningly. "For awhile, you sounded like you wanted me to be pregnant."

"No." He replied. "I just want whatever is comfortable for you. But if you were, we would have figured it out. We can figure out anything, Y/N. And I promise you that I will figure out everything I have to do in order to be with you every step of the way."

“Shawn, I—.” You said trying to hold back your tears, while reaching out to his tentatively hold to his hand.

He galces at you, upturns his hand to meet yours. He interlaces his fingers with yours, holding tight. “I know. When the time is right, we'll have a baby. It will be terrifying, actually, and require a frightening quantity of mature adult discussion, but we would do it eventually when we are older and more ready. Just say when, and I’ll be ready whenever you are.”

Still holding your gaze, his other hand reach out and touch your cheek. Your eyes teary as you lean into his touch. “Baby now or baby someday later or even baby never, I will forever love you Y/N. No matter what you decide I’m with you.” He reassured you.

Thank you for reading guys... feel free to like, reblog, follow my account, leave a comment and my chat is always open for random chats or requests... appreciate every single one of you... ❤️

Taglist: @monikamendes @holland-styles @bvttercupbby @lonelyreputation @badreputationlove @shawn-is-my-giant-jellybean @benito-mi-vida @swiftmendeshoran @yournameoneverypage @shawn-is-bruh @mendesbhraanth @perfectlywrongsm @imaginashawnns @smendes-forever @nervousmendes @whenyoureadyholland @shawn-youth @myboyshawn @camilalewiss @camilalewisss @theregoesmyherojd @nanijaac1 @shawnieeboyy @silverswallow

[delacyrose224]

A Sky Full of Stars

-Pairing: Dad!Jin x Mom!Reader

-Premise: Your daughter asks for a bedtime story, and Jin tells the story of how the two of you met...as a fairy tale.

-Genre: This is just straight up domestic fluff, y'all. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

-Word Count: 2.2k

-Warnings/tags: SFW, tooth-rotting fluff, reader is pregnant

-Author's Note: This is based on A Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay...this type of domestic fluff is not usually my thing, but @hyungieyoongi is an enabler and too many ideas took hold that I needed to get out of my brain. Who even am I, writing a dad fic? Hope you enjoy!

“Lemonade, it’s time for bed!” Jin singsongs down the hallway. You smile to yourself in the kitchen as you hear the pitter-patter of tiny socked feet echo across the living room. You turn to see your five year old daughter, hiding behind the curtains, her toes peeking out and wiggling in excitement as she hears her dad coming down the hallway behind her.

“Now where can my daughter have gotten off to?” Jin stands in the middle of the living room, seemingly perplexed. He begins to look behind furniture, lifting couch cushions to call into the dust and crumbs that have fallen by the wayside, as if the five year old would suddenly appear. You hear her giggles again when he opens the coat closet.

Jin turns to you instead of towards the noise. “Excuse me, pretty lady...have you seen a small girl about this high-”, he motions just above his knee, “-dark brown hair, answers to the name of Lemonade?” He grins at you, just as the girl in question bursts out from hiding, flinging her arms around her dad’s knees in a giant hug. He quickly scoops her up in his arms amongst a flurry of giggles from both you and her.

“Daddy, that’s not my name!” She laughs, smacking Jin’s chest with her small hand.

“What’s not your name?” He responds, pretending to be clueless.

“Lemonade...it’s Adelaide, Daddy.” She rolls her eyes at him.

Jin chuckles. “Well, you could’ve fooled me...I thought you were named Lemonade because you’re so sweet.” He smacks his lips against her cheek in a wet kiss and puts her back down on the ground.

“Can you tell me a story before bed, please?” She tugs on the hem of his shirt as politely as she can manage, though you can tell by the look in her eyes she’s desperate for your husband to say yes.

“Since you asked so nicely, I’d be happy to...Adelaide.” She grins widely and runs off to go brush her teeth and change into her pjs.

As she leaves the room, you turn back to the dishes you were cleaning from dinner. It’s not long before you feel Jin’s hands on your waist as he peers over you at the dishes you’re working on, resting his head on your shoulder.

“Hi, you.” he mumbles into the crook of your neck, rubbing his hands soothingly up and down your sides.

“Hi yourself, handsome.” You smile as you twist your head to give him a peck on the cheek.

“You need any help? I’m sure you’ve been on your feet all day...I’m happy to give you a massage later after Lemonade goes to bed.”

You let out a small laugh at his nickname for your daughter.

“I would love that...but when are you gonna stop calling Adelaide that?” You shake your head.

“Oh, never...it’s too funny, and you know she secretly loves it. You do too, I think.” You look up to see him smirking at you.

“You know, whenever we have another kid, I’m going to give it the weirdest nickname ever, no matter what you name them!” You threaten, turning around to face him once you set the last cup out to dry. Jin raises an eyebrow at you.

“...whenever? I think it’s a little too late for that one, love.” You can see a mix of mirth and warmth in his eyes as his hands slide from your waist over your stomach, which in the last week or so has started to show signs of a bump, much earlier than in your pregnancy with Adelaide.

“You know what I mean, Seokjin!” You glare at him, even as you bring your hands over his.

“You can call them Tteokbokki for all I care, I still get to name them. Both, if my hunch is right and you’re having twins,” he caresses your stomach as he leans forward and kisses your forehead softly.

Before you can reply, Adelaide is shouting for Jin from her bedroom, impatiently awaiting her bedtime story.

“You coming to storytime, Mama?” He asks, clearly hoping you’ll say yes.

“I’ll be there in a minute, just let me go change into something more comfy,” you reply, heading for your bedroom as Jin smiles as your retreating figure.

After throwing on a pair of sleep shorts with a ratty old hoodie of Jin’s, you head over to Adelaide’s room, where Jin is on his tippy toes, retrieving a book of fairy tales from the top shelf of Adelaide’s bookcase.

“Not that one, Daddy...you’ve read those like a hundred times!” She exasperatedly proclaims, arms crossed.

“Okay-”, he goes on tiptoe again to place the book back on the shelf, “-what kind of story do you want to hear, then?”

“A new one, that’s all!” She smiles as Jin sits down on the bed with her, burrowing under his arm for warmth.

“Hmm...okay, I think I have one you’ll like.” He smiles sideways over at you in the armchair across the room. Where he’s going with this, you’re not sure.

“Once upon a time, in a kingdom not too far from here, there was a beautiful princess. Her parents, the king and queen, wanted to make sure that she was married to a prince that was worthy of her. For you see, not only was she the most beautiful in the land, she was also very smart, and very funny. Not just any prince would do for her.” He looks over at you and smiles fondly. You smile in return, realizing he’s telling your daughter your story-how the two of you ended up together, thinly disguised as a fairy tale.

“One day, a prince from a faraway land arrived on a visit. The king and queen thought he would be an excellent match for their daughter, and so they arranged a meeting between the two of them. The princess got along with the prince, and they became friends quickly. The prince also introduced the princess to his court jester, who traveled alongside him for entertainment. The three soon became inseparable.” Your smile grows bigger the more the story goes on...you realize that the prince is Jungkook, and the jester is your husband.

“However, the princess didn’t show any interest in the prince other than friendship-”

“I think you forgot a part of the story, babe,” you interrupt before he can get much further. Adelaide looks across the room at you in wonder.

“What did he forget, Mama?” she whispers, clearly enthralled with the story. Jin raises his eyebrow at you, interested in what you have to say.

“The prince did ask the princess to go on a date with him, and it was very romantic,” you start. Jin’s eyes go wide, this information new to him. “He prepared a picnic for the two of them, and they went on a stroll through the neighboring town. The prince told the princess of all his foreign travels, and they talked for hours. When the night grew dark, he walked her home and kissed her goodnight.” Jin makes an indignant sound, quickly covering it up with a cough.

“Are you okay, Daddy?” Adelaide’s little hand pats his back as he continues to choke.

“I’m...fine, fine. Where was I in the story? Oh, yes. After this date-”, he makes pointed eye contact with you, letting you know he will be asking about details later, “-the prince was called to go on an important trip far away from the princess. The court jester had to go too, to make sure the prince never became too sad while he was away. The princess was sad that they had to leave, but they promised to come see her when they returned and said they would exchange letters while they were gone.”

“Did they come back? What happened?” Adelaide pipes up, wanting to know what happened next. You begin to speak again, picking up the story from Jin.

“The three kept their promises to each other. They all wrote to each other while they were separated, but a funny thing started to happen...the princess started to realize that she missed the court jester more than the prince. She missed the way he would make her laugh, how he would make fun of her for small, goofy things, and she missed his smile when she managed to make him laugh.”

Jin lets out a breathy laugh at this, the sound sending serotonin through you, and you can’t stop the smile that takes up what feels like your entire face.

“The jester felt the same way. He missed the princess’s laugh, her wit, her...everything.” Jin looks at you with such fondness, your face starts to heat and you have to look away.

“So what happened?! What about the prince?” Your daughter demands, and Jin pulls her in closer.

“When the two returned from their trip, the jester shared with the prince his feelings for the princess. The prince understood, and had begun to notice the jester’s feelings himself. He gave the two his blessing, and the jester and the princess shared their feelings with each other and kissed. They eventually got married, and they lived happily ever after.”

Jin smiles down at his daughter. “How’s that for a bedtime story?” She grins sleepily up at him.

“That was good, Daddy...the princess reminded me of Mama.” Jin leans down to press a kiss to Adelaide’s forehead as he tucks her in.

“Well, your Mama has always been a princess to me,” he smiles over at you as he straightens up and takes your hand as the two of you walk towards the door.

“Night, Mama. Night, Daddy.” Adelaide calls softly from her bed.

“Night, Adelaide.” “Night, Lemonade.”

As you pull the door closed gently, Jin pulls out his phone and begins to FaceTime Jungkook.

“Jin, what-” Before you can finish your sentence, Jungkook appears on the screen.

“Jin hyung, Noona, hi! What’s up?” Jungkook smiles brightly through the screen.

“Did you, or did you not, take my wife out on a date and kiss her?!” Jin whisper yells through the phone, careful not to disturb your daughter.

Jungkook’s face scrunches in confusion. “What? Hyung, she’s your wife, that doesn’t even make sense-”

“Before we started dating, did you take her on a date and kiss her?!” Jin repeats.

Realization dawns on Jungkook’s face, and he starts to laugh. You can’t help it, you join in as well.

“Yeah, we did. It was a nice date, if I remember right, Noona? I made us a picnic and we talked a lot. And yeah, I did kiss her.” Jungkook smirks at the memory.

“And you just neglected to tell me this, all these years? What am I to you, nothing?” Jin is incredulous at Jungkook’s nonchalance.

“It wasn’t that important, hyung. It became very apparent soon after that that she was swooning over you, not me. Can’t see why with all the dad jokes, but to each their own. Speaking of dad jokes, how’s Addie doing?”

You chime in before Jin has a chance to respond. “You can see for yourself, I’m sure she’d be happy to see Uncle Kookie for a sec.” You push Adelaide’s door open again, calling her name softly to see if she’s still awake.

“Yeah, Mama? What is it?” She sits up in bed slowly as you turn on the lamp on her bedside table.

“Someone wants to say hi to you,” you smile as you turn Jin’s phone around to face her.

Adelaide’s face breaks out in a smile when she sees Jungkook, as well as her cheeks turning slightly pink. You’re pretty sure that she might have a tiny little crush on her Uncle Kookie...and who could blame her? You used to think he was cute too, once upon a time-before a certain jester stole your heart.

Speaking of the jester, he has sat himself down in the armchair across the room, a slight pout on his face. As Adelaide hangs up the call with Jungkook, he speaks.

“Aigoo, what have I done to deserve this? The women in my life all love Uncle Kookie more than they love me,” his pout becomes more prominent as he talks.

“No, Daddy!” Adelaide pipes up from the bed. “It’s like in that song you always sing to me and Mama about all the stars...Uncle Kookie’s great, but in all the stars, we see you.”

You both look over at your daughter, recognizing the song she’s referring to as A Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay. Jin had begun absentmindedly singing that to her as a baby as a sort of lullaby, and it had stuck. He now sang it almost every day to the two of you in some form or fashion.

“We see you. Forever.” Your daughter adds emphasis, trying to convey how much she loves her father.

Jin walks over to her, the partial darkness hiding the mistiness in his eyes from Adelaide.

“And I see you forever, Lemonade. I love you so much, and your Mama so much, never forget that. Ever.” She laughs and nods in agreement, before burrowing down in her covers again.

You turn off her lamp, and the two of you walk out to the hallway, closing your daughter’s door for the second time that night. You turn to your husband.

“You know, we do see you forever. Me, Lemonade, and Tteokbokki.” You laugh while gazing into his eyes, placing his hands on your bump again.

He leans forward to place a gentle yet firm kiss on your mouth.

“I know.”

-----------------------------------

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[writtenonreceipts]

rowaelin the only single person in the friend group?

AN:Enjoy!

The Singles Club Isn’t Always Lonely

As Rowan entered the local bar, he shook rain from his coat and hair.  For the past two days it had seemed like constant cloud coverage lingered and that meant rain.  Not that Rowan particularly minded the rain.  It just grew tiresome.  He had yet to find a reason to fully rejoice in it.

He waved to Brullo, the bartender, and headed back to the usual table where he and his friends usually took over.  Indeed, Vaughan and Connall were seated drinks in hand and in deep conversation about something.  Gavriel and Fenrys were shooting darts—Gav wiping Fenrys’ ass with the score.  Though Fenrys was always more in it for the social aspect than the competitive nature.

“Well, look who finally showed up,” Connall called when he looked up to see Rowan crossing the bar towards them. 

Shooting his friend a vulgar gesture, Rowan took a seat in one of the stool and drew a freshly opened beer towards him.

“I should ask you all the same question,” Rowan grunted.  He took a swig of beer and sighed.  “Between wives and girlfriends, I thought you’d all bail on meeting up.”

“Hell, no!” Fenrys shot a wild dart and came to sling an arm over Rowan’s shoulder. “Tradition.  As Asterin so lovingly reminds me, I need to spend more time with you losers.  I think it’s just so she can go to the shooting range with Manon and Elide, but you know.”

“Nehemia says that I’m hovering,” Connall said.  “As if I can hover.  She’s seven months pregnant, I should be allowed to be concerned.”

“You’ve texted six times in the last half hour, man,” Vaughan said.  He pointed meaningfully to his friend's phone.

Connall scowled. “Concerned.”

“Hovering,” Rowan said.  He took another drin.

“You have to let her live her life still, Con,” Gavriel said.  He plucked the round of darts from the board and turned back to his friends. “When Endara was pregnant with Aedion she and Evalin would go on week long spa getaways.”

Connall looked absolutely horrified. “But—”

“No,” Gavriel insisted.  “Space and foot rubs.”

“That contradicts itself,” Connall muttered.

“Just saying,” Gavriel said.

Sometimes, Rowan found it hard to believe that Gavriel had a son their same age.  Sometimes, Rowan found it hard to believe that Gavriel was as old as he was.  Of course, he would never say it to the man’s face.  Because getting his ass kicked was not on his list of things to do.

“This is why Rolfe and I communicate,” Vaughan said.  He grabbed Connall’s phone before he could check it for a nonexistent text.

“You and boyfriend have a very strange definition of communication,” Fenrys said. “You also need to lock your front door.”

“You need to knock,” Vaughan said unapologetically.

Rowan rolled his eyes at his friend's antics. “Where’s Salvaterre?  Why am I on the chopping block.”

“Because he texted,” Vaughan said emphatically, “that he would be late.”

“Elide had an important meeting at work and he wanted to take her out for ice cream after,” Fenrys grumbled. “They’re almost as disgusting as Conn and Mia.”

“See,” Rowan finally spoke up, “this is why I am remaining single.”

The group groaned, throwing peanut husks at him while telling him to grow up.  Rowan simply laughed.  It was a conversation they’d all tried to have with him.  Get a girlfriend Rowan.  Go out on more dates Rowan.  You work too much Rowan.

He knew they were just giving him a hard time.  For the most part.  But he also couldn’t help but let the words dig into his skin.

They’d miraculously been through a lot together.  Despite the age differences between them all, something had drawn them together with a love of history, hand-to-hand combat, and drunken nights of poker.

“Hey, assholes!” Lorcan entered the bar and exchanged a few words with Brullo before coming to the table.

“‘Bout time, man,” Connall called.  He kicked a stool out for the other man.

“I was supporting my girlfriend,” Lorcan said, “shouldn’t you be with your wife?”

“Shouldn’t you be asking Elide to marry you?” Connall shot back.

Lorcan launched into a coughing fit just as he took a drink of beer. “What?”

“It’s been two months and all we’ve heard from you is how great this girl is.  Coming from you that’s practically a wedding announcement,” Rowan added, grinning fiendishly when Lorcan’s face heated

“Yeah, you know, speaking of relationships, I haven’t seen you taking anyone out lately,” Lorcan groused.

Before Rowan could either shoot Lorcan the finger or snark back to him, Brullo arrived with another round of beer.

The rest of the night passed in easy conversation punctuated Fenrys’ claims that at the next poker night he would win every hand.  Granted he was on his third beer as he said this.

It was just like any other night.  And yet by the time midnight rolled around, he listened as his friends claimed necessity to return to domesticity.

Nehemia had cravings.  Elide, Manon, and Asterin were drunk and needed a ride.  Rolfe threatened to watch Bridgerton alone.  And Endara claimed Gavriel had left her kitchen a mess.  

Life as it should be was chaos.  And while Rowan knew he wouldn’t have it any other way, as he paid off the tab with Brullo—consequence of a lost bet—he found himself facing a night of pouring rain and a semi-drunk Connall to haul around.

#

When Aelin Galathynius swore a life of solitude, it was for a good reason.  She’d recently adopted a dog after all and Fleetfoot needed her undivided attention.  

Now, five years later, she regretted nothing.  Especially when Fleetfoot was such an excellent snuggling companion.

While her apartment was small, and admittedly shabby, it was home.  Had been since she’d moved out of last foster home five years ago.  Almost every single one of her friends had lived with her in that time.  From Manon deeming it for your own good so you don’t end up murdered in this hellish part of town, to Elide claiming that I have no idea how to live by myself, you have to help me.

The apartment had known many people.  Had known fights and tears.  Had known emotional breakdowns and dance parties.  

And yet, as Aelin came home from work on a glorious Friday evening, it felt empty.  Even with Fleetfoot eagerly dancing around her feet.  Even as she hooked on the leash and took a brisk walk around the block with Fleetfoot bounding along joyfully.  Even when she returned home and turned her music on while she made dinner.

Empty.

Only the pouring rain outside gave any indication of the outside world.

Aelin turned her music up louder.

Perhaps it would have been so bad if Elide were here with her.  Or Nehemia.  Any of her friends.  But it was date night and she knew just how much her friends had been missing their boys.  

Elide worked so much and she’d recently started dating Lorcan Salvaterre they barely saw each other.  Nehemia was having a baby with the love of her life.  And then even though she and Asterin weren’t the closest, Aelin did miss her drinking buddy.  And Yrene was so busy with her internship that all she had time for was her new marriage.

Aelin couldn’t have been happier for her friends, truly.  They were all living their best lives.  And so was Aelin.

She’d graduated with her degree in history, specializing in warfare and weaponry.  Now she was teaching part-time at a community college and part of a research team that was working an archeology dig out in Wendlyn.  Everything she’d wanted.  Everything she’d worked so hard to get.

Life was good.  Or so she kept telling herself.

“You really need to start locking your door!”

Aelin turned from the mess of spaghetti she was trying to make to find Elide, Asterin, and Manon entering her apartment.  She held a spatula out threateningly.

“You can't just barge into people’s apartments,” Aelin said.

“We can if the door’s unlocked,” Manon replied.  She wasted no time in kicking off her shoes and tossing her jacket onto Aelin’s couch. “Please tell me you have wine.”

“What’d Dorian do now?” Aelin asked as Manon easily went to the kitchen and found the bottle of wine.  Not the cheap stuff.

“Nothing,” Manon grumbled.

Asterin barked out a laugh.  “He brought up meeting his parents.”

“And moving in together,” Elide added.

Manon brandished the corkscrew threateningly. “Don’t make me use this.”

Chuckling, Aelin turned the burners of her stove off. “It’s Dorian.  You can tell him no to both things and he’ll get it.”

Manon grunted and began chugging her very full glass of wine.

“Lorcan mentioned moving in together,” Elide said. Wine spurted from Manon’s nose and Elide rolled his eyes. “Eventually.  He didn’t actually ask just one of those brief passing comments.”

“You know, I still don’t like him,” Aelin said.  She dished up a few bowls of pasta and started handing them out.

“Please the two of you are practically besties,” Elide said.  She gave Aelin a wink before settling in a chair at the small dining room table.

“Speaking of besties,” Asterin added, “Fenrys just sent me a text.  They are getting wasted at the bar.”

“Is Gav with them?” Elide asked through a mouthful of pasta.

“Yeah, thank the Goddess,” Asterin said.  “I don’t want to pick his drunk ass up.”

Manon made an approving sound and poured herself another glass of wine. “Because we are getting ourselves drunk.”

Aelin debated taking the wine away from Manon already, but shrugged.  She needed a distraction from everything else.  Before sitting down, she grabbed a bottle of whiskey she kept in case of emergencies and few glasses.  It was girl’s night, why not?

“You do know you’re going to have to talk to Dorian, eventually right?” Aelin asked, pouring out whiskey.

“Shush,” Manon said. “Talking is overrated.  We’ll just have sex and get over it.”

Aelin made a face. “I’d rather not think of you and one of my best friends in that way.”

“It’s sex!” Manon shouted. “C’mon, Aelin.  I know it can’t have been that long since you slept with someone.” 

Aelin rolled her eyes.  She most certainly should have taken the wine away.  Wine drunk Manon was a whole different animal than whiskey drunk Manon.

“Ohh,” Elide said, already pushing back her half-eaten bowl of pasta for the whiskey. “I might know of someone.  Actually, Lorcan knows him.”

“No!” Aelin shouted at the same time Asterin screeched, “yes!”

“He’s very attractive,” Elide said with a knowing nod.

“And works out, a ton,” Asterin added. “He and Fen are training for a marathon.”

Aelin didn’t know whether to be impressed or horrified.  She worked out and believed in a healthy lifestyle.  But she also believed in chocolate.  And cake.

Even as her friends slid side-glances her direction, Aelin ignored them.  They’d been hounding her to date more.  Ever since Sam had broken up with her when she wouldn’t move across the country with him and the mess with Chaol...Aelin hadn’t been in a serious relationship.  And she was fine.  Did she miss casual dates? Yes.  Someone she could talk to about everything and anything?  Yes.  Did she miss sex?  Absolutely.

On the last item she could rectify that easily.  Just swing by the nearest club, but Aelin had always craved connection more than casualties.  

She knocked back her shot of whiskey and nabbed the bottle from Manon who was well on her way to drunk.

Elide laughed at Aelin’s diversion from talking and got up to turn Aelin’s stereo up.

“You’ve gotta find a way to support Fleetfoot,” the petite brunette said, “being a single mom is hard.”

“Screw you!” Aelin growled.

“Pretty sure Lorcan’s already taking care of that,” Asterin said.

“No!” Manon and Aelin shouted together.

Cackling madly, Elide downed her whiskey and began dancing.  It didn’t take long before all four girls were drunk and dancing madly to the music.  And Aelin was able to forget everything else about the day and little comments her friends had made.

It wasn’t until after midnight that Lorcan and Fenrys showed up to take the other girl’s home.  Fenry, a bit tipsy himself.

“Baby!” Elide squealed when she threw open the door.

Had Aelin been a touch more wasted she would have missed the soft smile that flitted across Lorcan’s face as his girlfriend flung herself at him.  Aelin might not have understood where the hell that relationship had come from but she was slowly starting to accept it.

“Be safe,” Aelin demanded as she ushered her drunk friends out the door, Lorcan assuring her he had only drank one beer over an hour ago.

“Get a Tinder!” Asterin hollered as Aelin closed the door.

And just like that, she was left to an empty apartment.

#

When Rowan got into the business of researching ancient warfare and artifacts of war, he’d known it would give him hell in the future.  Not that he would regret it of course, but for the past five years he’d dealt with questioning papers, developing thesis, tossing out said thesis, and trying to appear that he knew what he was doing.

It was a miracle if he could accomplish that last item.

By the time he made it home from work, he was exhausted.  The text from Elide--how she’d gotten his number Rowan had no idea--declaring a night out didn’t help any.  But it had been a few weeks since he and his friend--all his friends had gotten together.

So he dragged his sorry hide into a shower and down to Brullo’s bar.

And just like always he was the last to arrive.

“Whitethorn!” Vaughan called out.

Rowan raised his hand in recognition before getting a drink from Brullo.

Already, his friends had their drinks and their girls--and in Vaughan’s case, boy.  Nothing about the night seemed far from normal.  Even if Rowan wasn’t as familiar with Asterin or Rolfe, being around this group of people always put him at ease.

“You look like hell, Rowan,” Nehemia said with a sympathetic smile.  She wore a simple gray dress that showed off her growing bump, her black hair twisted in thick braids.

Rowan offered a returning smile. “It was a hellish day.”

Connall thrust a beer into his hands. “Here’s to make it better.  Although my lovely wife has already graced you with her presence, so consider yourself lucky.”

Rolling his eyes, Rowan shoved his friend away. “How much have you had to drink?”

“Too much,” Loran supplied.  As usual he was seated in the corner of their table, nursing a beer.

“Where’s Elide?” Rowan asked. “Seeing as she’s the one who made me come.”

Lorcan gestured out to the dance floor.  The dance floor.  Since when did Brullo let anyone start dancing?  Not in the past five years that Rowan and his friends had come.  Unless one of them or another patron got too drunk.

But there was some song with a deep, thrumming beat reverberated through the bar.  Someone must have bribed Brullo to put it on.  Likely the fiends who were dancing like they had no care in the world.

Fenrys and Asterin were practically glued together and were less dancing and more making out.  Nearby Gavriel and Endara were mostly laughing while tripping over their feet to keep with the beat of the song.  What caught Rowan’s attention however was Elide.

Or rather her dance partner.

The woman was tall, lean, and had the frame of a fighter.  She moved so easily to the music that Rowan was focused on her more than the song.  Her blond hair hung well past her shoulders in golden waves matching her gold dress perfectly.  But perhaps what was so striking was the carefree smile she wore.  The way she laughed and leaned into Elide as the song changed to a sultrier chord.  But neither woman seemed to notice, or care.

Until the blonde looked up and the low lights emitting from the dance floor set a low fire to her eyes and dug into him, holding him in place.  And his breath caught.

Elide broke the spell that had settled over him.

“Rowan!” She yelled and waved frantically for him to join the dancing.

“No,” Rowan called back firmly.  The last time he had decided to go dancing with Elide he had ended up shirtless, hungover, and in a car halfway to Mexico.  

Elide pouted at him before crooking her finger to her boyfriend.  Lorcan was already up and out of his seat making his way toward her.  It was still strange to Rowan to see the brute of a man soften for anyone.

Shaking his head, Rowan returned to the bar to get another drink.

“Can I get something as well, Brullo?” The airy confidence of the woman, snagged Rowan’s attention and he turned to see the Elide’s former dance partner standing beside him.

From this angle, Rowan was better able to see that spark of gold and blue in her eyes, a splash of freckles on her nose.  She was beautiful.

“You must be Rowan,” she said with a single brow raised.

He nodded and accepted a beer from Brullo. “I am, but I don’t seem to know you.”

Her mouth pulled up on one side. “Aelin.  Elide and I grew up together.  Figured since I never see her anymore, I had to come see what this place is all about.”

“Elide dragged you out here, didn’t she?” Rowan asked.

“She is terrifying when she wants to be,” Aelin agreed.  She offered him a full grin in that instant and Rowan knew that if possible, he would try and make her smile like that again. “And she offered to pay my tab.”

“Meaning Lorcan will be paying your tab,” Rowan said.

“He does have his uses, other than being a brute.” Aelin laughed at that and took the drink Brullo offered her.  She turned her gaze on him, those eyes so full of light. “I suppose I should get used to him though.  Elide seems to like him.”

She wasn’t wrong Rowan realized.  “Anyone that can get Lorcan to actually get out and dance is a miracle worker.”

“Except, she didn’t get you out there dancing,” Aelin said.  She let out a soft laugh leaning closer to him.

And there it was, something different.  And perhaps Rowan wouldn’t identify it for a long time.  Wouldn’t really know what it was.  But there was something about Aelin that drew him in.  He’d known her for all of ten minutes, didn’t even know her last name, and here he was completely ensnared.

“I don’t dance,” Rowan said.

Aelin cackled. “Not yet anyway.”

She knocked back the rest of her drink and grabbed Rowan’s arm pulling him to the dancefloor.

Perhaps if they’d been paying closer attention, they would have noticed the high-five Asterin and Elide exchanged.  Or the passing of bills between Vaughan, Connall, and Gavriel.  There was a great deal they didn’t notice.

Not how the rain stopped pouring outside.  Not how the emptiness of the night was overcome by more than music and alcohol.  It was a silent shift.  A careful one.  One that would become more than alright with them.

#

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[winterscaptain]

the pitch.

Aaron Hotchner x Fem!Reader

a/n: this one is just a fun lil ajf fic! takes place in au!february 2016, during the spring soccer season

words: 1.3k warnings: soccer moms, light language

summary: aaron’s a known challenge for the moms on the soccer pitch. a newcomer finds out why. 

masterlist | a joyful future masterlist | requests closed!

“Let’s go Jack! C’mon!” Aaron’s shout carries across the soccer pitch, and Jack delivers - scoring a goal for his second hat trick of the season. At twelve, he is by far the strongest player on the team, as well as the happiest. 

He flies to the sidelines for a moment and meets his dad for a high-five, sprinting back onto the pitch. 

Two moms watch the exchange on the opposite sideline, the younger of the two observing Aaron with particular interest. “Do you think he’s single?” She, unlike her new friend, doesn't know the Hotchners and has never met you.

As it happens, you’re home with Isaac, almost ready to leave for the end of the game. The games are always a little loud for Isaac, but you’ve learned he can tolerate (and sometimes actually enjoy) them for about twenty minutes at a time. Thus, you always started or ended the game without him, spending the rest of the time running errands or hanging out at home. 

While you’re not quite sure what his differences are, you know your little one has a unique relationship to the environment. Derek had the idea to put headphones on him when he was just over a year old, and they’ve been a lifesaver. You usually put them on him to dampen environmental noise, but the ability to play music comes in handy, too. 

Among the more seasoned soccer parents, you’re a bit of a legend. Stepmom to the Stars, and wife of the infamously handsome and competent Aaron Hotchner. You beautifully manage a soon-to-be teenager (who adores you), while carting around an almost-two-year-old (with sensory processing issues), while pregnant (with twins). 

It would be infuriating if it wasn’t so impressive.

The older woman snorts. “Far from it. In fact, he’s more in love with his wife than any man I’ve ever met. If I hadn’t seen him together, I would think he was full of shit, but they really are something else. They work at the Justice Department together.”

“First marriage?” She’s clearly determined. 

“Second. He’s a widower.” 

The younger woman tosses her hair over her shoulder, gathering it up into a ponytail. “I can work with that. It’s been a minute since I flirted with the Justice Department.”

She crosses the pitch, coming to rest by Aaron’s side. 

“So,” she starts, “which one’s yours?”

With a proud, if reserved, smile, Aaron picks Jack out of the players. He’s an easy find, almost a streak on the pitch as he runs across the field. “Jack’s there. He’s my oldest.” After answering her question, he directs all of his focus back to the game, pointedly bringing his left hand to scratch at something on his neck, his wedding ring glinting in the sunlight. 

“Oldest? So you have more kids?”

Absently, he replies, crossing his arms. “I do. Another son and two girls on the way.” He’s had her intentions on lock since he’s spotted her eyeing him across the way. His polite disinterest does nothing to deter her.

“So sweet!” Her voice just about gives him a cavity. “How old is your other son?”

She’s cute enough - a type he would have probably gone after in college - but young and singularly focused. He runs a quick mental profile (have to keep the skills sharp, you know) and sees a woman who married early, divorced soon after having one child - given the wedding band she wears on her right hand and the mother’s ring she wears on her left - and given her pursuit of him, likely something to prove to an older man in her life. 

Thankfully, he knows you’re on your way, ready to save him from this suburban hell. 

“He’ll be two next month.”

She smiles, flicking her ponytail back over her shoulder. “That’s such a sweet age. My daughter is just over a year old, now. My ex is bringing her by tonight, so I’ve got the house to myself all afternoon.” 

Got that profile locked down, didn’t he?

Still got it, Hotchner. 

The woman sighs like a house to herself is the greatest tragedy she’s ever encountered. 

His eyes wander to the parking lot, where you’re walking from the car with Isaac up on your hip, his little headphones already over his ears. You raise an arm to wave and Aaron’s face breaks out into a grin. 

He barely acknowledges the other woman as he says, “Excuse me,” and trots toward you. Jack’s been benched for the time being, recovering from his high-scoring first half. 

“Hi, sweetheart.” 

You’re greeted with a quick, sweet kiss when Aaron reaches you, and you run a casual hand from his shoulder to his pec, tapping twice. “Hey, my love. How’s he doin’ out there today?”

“Hat trick, we’re up by five and he’s on the bench until next quarter.”

“Excellent.” She shifts Isaac on her hip, and Aaron reaches for him. Much to everyone’s surprise, Isaac reaches out for Aaron and allows his father to tuck him against his chest with one arm. You and Aaron exchange a little smile. 

Your belly has decidedly become an obstacle as the twins get closer to arriving. You’re nearly seven months in, and they’re just about killing you. You will, however, suffer a great many trials for one of Aaron’s back massages, though, carrying his daughters included. 

The three of you (or five, depending on who you count) walk back to the sideline of Jack’s game, your hand tucked into the crook of Aaron‘s elbow. 

“So,” you say. “How many this morning?”

He laughs, a sound that brings a wide smile to your face. “Just the one. I’m a known challenge and I guess she was feeling ambitious.”

“What, babe? Is twenty and unattached not doing it for you anymore?” Your tone is cheeky in the extreme as you rest your hand on your belly. 

You earn an eye roll. “I’ve done twenty and unattached. It got me far enough the second time, and I don’t think ‘third time’s the charm’ will apply to this situation very well.” 

“In fairness, you did twenty-nine and unattached last time, if my memory serves.” You keep your tone light - it’s all play. 

“Ah, yes. That’s right. I’m glad you’re here to keep me honest.” He kisses your temple and you lean into him. “I am an old man, after all. My memory’s going.”

You snort. “Not too far, I hope.” 

A smile plays at the corner of his mouth, and you know he’s thinking of last night. “Nope. Not too far, at all.” 

The running attempts for Aaron’s attention on the soccer field was weekly entertainment at this point. As annoying as it was at the start, he regularly reminds you that only one woman has his ring on her finger and gets to bear his children and receive all the finer things that come with those privileges.

You felt much better after that. 

He stoops to place Isaac in the folding chair he brought specifically for you and his younger son. Under no circumstances can Aaron himself sit still at one of Jack’s games - a habit from his coaching days.

When he straightens, he kisses you again. You can feel his smile against your lips and you’re sure he can feel yours. When you pull back, your eyes track to the side of the pitch. “We have an audience.”

He follows your gaze for just a moment before covering it with a cursory search for Jack, who’s right where he was before. “What’s so interesting about a man who loves his wife?”

You shrug. “I wouldn’t know. It’s not a novelty to me.”

The two soccer moms have reconvened, and the smugness has switched faces. 

“You’re kidding. They’re like a goddamn Hallmark card.”

“I told you.”

+++

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[mermaidsirennikita]

bridgerton--the good, the bad, the ugly

The short of it: Bridgerton excellently captures the tone of Regency romance novels and offers a lot of escapism and great sex scenes, but could definitely use some serious work in terms of how it depicts race and it should have made some further alterations to the dated and flawed source material.  Definitely loved a lot of it and am hotly anticipating the second season, but I want to see more work done and I HOPE that this encourages the adaptation of better (and less inherently flawed) romance novels.

Now for the longer take.

The Good

Bridgerton depicted sex and romance in a way that is totally different from anything I’ve seen in period dramas, for sure, but possibly different from anything I’ve seen on TV.  The romance of it all was woven into almost every aspect of the show. There is the handsome and seemingly severe but extravagantly wealthy and sexually adept duke sweeping into town.  The (multiple) rakes who just want to have fun while also being hot messes.  The awakening of female sexuality and the copious use of the female gaze.  (Note the pretty modest and minimal focus on female nudity, while we get plenty of lingering shots on Simon.).  People want love!  There is pretty minimal violence and perhaps the most physically violent scene involves Simon beating a man up because HE IMPEACHED DAPHNE’S HONOR~.

The sex scenes themselves focused on Daphne’s pleasure for the most part, and were probably among the best I’ve seen since Outlander in terms of chemistry, in terms of the visuals, in terms of focus on sex as an act of emotional connection and FUN. Yes, there was some Unlikely Vaginal Orgasming, but we also saw Simon tell Daphne about masturbation.  On the wedding night, he was pretty clearly touching her to help her enjoy it.  He ate her out... a good bit.  

And aside from that, we got all of the grand speeches, the stolen glances and touches, an excellent buildup of sexual tension that led to some pretty hilarious moments.  

I also really enjoyed many of the performances on this show.  Rege-Jean and Phoebe had great chemistry and excellent back and forth.  Jonathan was a GREAT Anthony.  I would argue that as lackluster as I found his relationship with Siena (more on that in a minute) it largely existed as a way to set him up for his romance with Kate.  He now has even more of a reason to be down with love, as opposed to solely relying on a kind of flimsy tragic backstory.  Additionally, his overprotectiveness of Daphne added tension to the story and made him a source of comedic relief for me?  I loved it.  Give me disaster Anthony all day; can’t wait until he falls to the enemies to lovers trope just like Simon fell to his FLAW-FREE fake dating plan.

A lot of the changes I found were really good.  Obviously, it was important that the show incorporated greater diversity (though they need way more).  Benedict was INFINITELY more fun and interesting than he was in the novels, and acted as another standout for me.  As much as I hate Portia Featherington, I think that the elevation of her to a proper villainess is probably necessary and Polly Walker excels at those types of roles, though they need to maybe have her be less like, actively racist.  I adored the addition of Queen Charlotte; she was excellent comic relief.  Lady Danbury’s expanded role and relationship to Simon was one of the best moves they made.  It touched my entire soul.

Buuuut....

The Bad

The show needs to work on casting more men that are frankly on Rege-Jean’s level.  It feels a bit awkward to see a guy that is by most people’s standards kind of stunning and then.... Colin looks twelve.  Lord Philip is like... a farm guy.  Get rid of the sideburns, we’re in romance novel territory.

In the same note, the girl who played Siena wasn’t a great actress and wasn’t super stunning, so even though I’m fine with her being a placeholder....  Eh.  Go for better casting.  The woman playing Madame Delacroix would’ve played that role so much better and I really enjoyed her dynamic with Benedict because she was just fun.

Frankly, I don’t know what the fuck they’re going to do to make me want to watch Penelope and Colin fall in love.  Their book was already a bit basic--fun, but far from revolutionary.  I don’t really get why they would receive attention similar to that of Kate and Anthony, basically.  The issue is that Colin, again, looks and sound rather young and twerpy.  It obviously wasn’t great for him to be tricked into raising another man’s child, but.... For fuck’s sake, how much would that have affected his life on a practical level.  He’d never know unless he was told, thanks to the lack of DNA tests.  He was marrying far out of his league in terms of attractiveness.  He’s a rich white guy in England with a supportive family.  

I really disliked the fact that Colin told Marina in his huffy little tantrum that he would have married her anyway--because would you have, buddy?  Really?  The thing is that Marina had no way of knowing that and her entire life (and the reputations of her cousins) was on the line.  She didn’t know if she could trust Colin to keep her secret.  They barely knew each other.  He basically came off as a whiny child and I’m fine with him staying in Greece if that’s the plan.

Penelope was just... psychotic.  And that was really disappointing, because I love Nicola and would love to have loved to see the fat girl get her sexy love story.  But first off, lol, it wouldn’t have been sexy because Colin was miscast.  Second, she basically tried to destroy Marina’s life and that of her sisters?  And herself?  Because Colin?  Because Colin, a guy who hasn’t even shown any amount of attraction to her at this point?  Her tears, her whining, it was all too much.  Penelope was dealing with a crush and Marina was dealing with the real Grown Woman issues of a child out of wedlock and as it turned out a dead lover and they were not on equal footing.

I mean, Penelope could very well make a great villainess at this point, and if done well I’d embrace it.  But I do not know how the fuck they can make me interested in her love story.  And the idea of her basically being launched into villainy because she was this chubby white girl obsessively jealous of a beautiful black woman...... not a great look.

The show definitely needs to explore diversity in terms of sexuality too--I don’t think it’s correct to read Benedict as straight because he still seems to be open to exploring.  Once he has more screentime, I think he could totally end up being bisexual, and it’s possible that the writers were trying to feel the audience out in terms of their receptiveness to taking a straight character who has a big straight love story in the books and making him LGBT+.  Eloise could also easily be a lesbian, and I’d be thrilled to see that happen.  They need to do something to expand the world, and if there are 8 Bridgerton kids, all of them being straight as an arrow seems SO unlikely.

The Ugly

Obviously, the rape scene was bad and should have been written out.  Simon could have gotten caught up in the moment and blown up at Daphne after he accidentally didn’t pull out in time.  Men.... accidentally don’t pull out in time... a lot.  That’s how babies happen.  It would’ve been believable, and due to our sympathies being with Simon largely, I don’t think he would have become irredeemable if he was more at fault than Daphne.  

As it was, I will say that the scene was somewhat better than it played in the books because Simon was conscious and totally sober, and it was a bit?  Confusing?  That he didn’t just roll Daphne over and pull out?  Because she wasn’t really clearly trying as hard as she was in the book to wrap her legs around him and hold him tight.  But it remained a rape scene.  The show also did a better job, I think, of establishing how fucked up it was that Simon took advantage of Daphne’s lack of knowledge.  Whatever he said about thinking she knew what was up--he knew she didn’t even know about masturbation.  He had to know she wouldn’t understand what pulling out meant.  He did very clearly mislead her to think that he was sterile and therefore denied Daphne her ability to give informed consent.  Did that justify what Daphne did?  Nope.  Two wrongs don’t make a right.  But both of them did a fucked up thing and I think that we honestly could’ve stopped at Simon’s misleading.

The issue too is that this leads into a bigger problem the show had.  It wanted to include diversity (yay!) but did not consider the total implications of what was happening (not yay).  Daphne and Simon’s dynamic is inevitably influenced by the fact that she’s a white woman and he’s a black man, regardless of whatever handwaves happened.  This influences the sexual assault and makes it even more messy.

Speaking of mess, I’m not sure what exactly would have fixed the “we don’t want this to be a colorblind casting” issue... but the explanation they came up with wasn’t good.  Never mind that this makes everything SUPER confusing (racism is over like..... maybe 50 years MAX after Queen Charlotte’s marriage if we assume she was a teen when she married and is in her 60s now?) but Lady Danbury’s dialogue explaining this was HORRENDOUS.  “One of them fell in love with one of us”.  The implications are awful.  I don’t know if perhaps setting back the integration of society centuries earlier would have helped?  But this wasn’t it.

Additionally, the writers and casting directors didn’t seem to get that diversity is all well and good, but what about the fact that almost every black character has a light skin tone?  Why are there so few black female characters?  Why is Marina, the most prominent woc on the show, given the “pregnant and desperately trying to trick a man into marrying her until her jealous white cousin fucks her life up and she is humiliated into settling for a loveless match” plot?  I desperately hope we see her next season, falling in love with Sir Phillip or perhaps having experienced a plot twist that gives her someone else...  And she better not die. Eloise can find someone else if Marina really ends up with Sir Philip.

Ultimately, again, I really loved the show.  But it needs to work on some things.  I think that a lot of its issues can be addressed and fixed in a future season, and I HOPE they do that.

[straykidsnerd255]

Can I ask for the saint seiya the lost canvas gold saints reaction when their s/o tell them that they are pregnant ( s/o kinda fear their reaction though) ( If you don't feel confortable writing for that kind of things I understand completely! 💕) have a nice day ❤️

I forgot how long it is writing for all 12 gold saints. Hope you enjoy hon! <3

Shion:

This man is crying. Not like sobbing crying, but tears rolling down his face. He’s not sure how to handle the idea of you being pregnant or the idea of you being a mother or him a father. He never knew who his father was to begin with and was afraid that he was going to turn into a nasty person. However, you would assure him that he would be an excellent father. When you told him that you were pregnant, you feared that he would want a divorce. However, what you were welcomed with was nothing that you had thought would happen. His tears, the quiver of his bottom lip and small little laugh that left his throat before he kissed your breathless. “Thank you.” He mumbled against your lips.

Rasgado:

He would pull you into a hug and in a second, you could feel his tears on your shoulder. Your husband wasn’t big on shedding tears or crying, but you knew that he could cry. Before you had told him that you were pregnant, you were extremely scared that he would leave you. You both were just newly married after all. The topic of children did come up but he never said that he wanted one right away or later in life. However, when you told him the news, and the gentleness of his hug that followed after made your heart sore to new heights. He lifted your head before pressing his lips against yours. His arms wrapped around your smaller frame. “Thank you for giving me the best gifts possible.” He whispered, pulling away from the kiss and pressing small pecks to your cheek, jaw, and shoulder. You smiled softly. “I couldn’t have asked for a better husband.” She whispered back.

Aspros:

You walked over to your husband as he prepared dinner for the two of you. “Hon, I have something to tell you.” You whispered. Aspros tensed up at those words. “What is it?” He asked, scared of what you were about to tell him. You took a deep breath and turned your husband to face you. His expression went from tense to confused in a split second. “What-” “I’m pregnant Aspros.” You interrupted him. His eyes widened as the news sank in. “You’re pregnant?” He whispered. He dropped the utensils, and then to his knees to press his lips to your stomach making you giggle. Hot tears spilled from his eyes as he buried his face against your stomach. “I thought you were going to tell me you wanted to break up.” Aspros said standing up and pulling you into a hug. You laid your head against his heart. “I honestly thought you would have left me when I said I was pregnant.” You confessed. Aspros tightened his grip. “I would never leave you.” He whispered.

Manigoldo:

You clasped your hands together as you waited for your husband to come home. When the sound of the front door could be heard, you moved from your spot and walked to the front door to greet your husband like you always did. Manigoldo smiled when he saw you and leaned down to press his lips to yours. “You seem fidgety hun. Is everything ok?” He asked. You took a deep breath. “Love, I’m fidgety because I’m pregnant.” You said. Manigoldo dropped his helmet as he looked at you. “You’re pregnant?” He whispered back. You shyly nodded your head. Before you knew what was happening, you felt your husband’s arms wrap around you and pull you into a hug. “I can’t wait to see the little one running around here.” He whispered before pressing a small kiss to your forehead.

Regulus:

He would be a straight up puppy upon hearing the news that you are pregnant. You can’t tell me otherwise. When you would return home from work, he would immediately ask to see your stomach even though you were not showing yet. You would still comply and lift your shirt for your husband to press gentle kisses and press his nose against your stomach. “I can’t wait to see this small baby running around the house with your face and eyes, and my determination and strength. You smiled softly before dropping to your knees and pressing your lips against your husbands lips. He would be all smiles during the kiss. He had wanted to be a father his entire life. Now, he was going to be one.

Asmita:

He is baby already. But when you come home with the brightest smile on your face, Asmita can’t help but open his eyes to see it. The look of pure joy and bliss sitting on your face speaks a thousand languages. “What made you so happy today love?” Asmita asked, wrapping his arms around your body and holding you close to his chest. You smiled and snuggled into your husband’s chest and closed your eyes. “Well, I went to the doctor’s today because I wasn’t feeling so well, turns out, I am pregnant.” You said. His eyes widened as those words left your lips. “Really?” He asked. You nodded your head. You took his hand in your and pressed it to your still flat stomach. “There will be a baby here soon.” You said smiling softly. Asmita couldn’t keep the tears from falling down his face. ”Thank you.” He whispered.

Dohko:

This man is jumping for joy when he found out you were pregnant. He couldn’t wait for a little him and you running around the home. You pulled you into a hug and laid his head on your shoulder. He closed his eyes and started talking to you about all the fun things that could happen from having a little human running around the house. “Just imagine me and the baby when it's older outside training and practicing so they can take my spot as the libra saint.” He said happily. You smiled softly but shook your head. “When the baby is born, don’t worry about that stuff for a while. The child still needs to grow up and get stronger.” You said smiling at your husband.

Kardia:

Even though he’s very feisty and angry when he’s with the other saints, his soft side shows when he’s at home with you. You are the reason that he has a soft side. The day you found out you were pregnant and told Kardia, the dude couldn’t couldn’t stop smiling all dreamy like when he got to sanctuary. The other saints had no freakin clue what the hell was going on. When Kardia gets home, he immediately wants to lay his head on your lap so he can rub his nose against your stomach. He would gently kiss your stomach. He just loves it when he can kneel down and talk to your fully pregnant belly. You just run your fingers through his blue hair lovingly.

Sisyphos:

He would be an emotional mess. Just the fact that he found the perfect woman to marry, she has given him another gift. When she told him she was pregnant he became a sobbing mess. He cried and pulled her into a hug. “This is the best day of my life.” He whispered, pressing his lips against hers. She smiled as she pressed her lips back against his and wrapped her arms around his neck. The rest of the day consists of you cuddling with your husband as his hand lays on your stomach while his head is laying on your chest. “I can’t wait for this little baby to be born.” He whispered.

Elcid:

This man is confused when he finds a small gift on the table with cake when he returns home from work. You smiled brightly as he took his armor off. “What’s all this?” He asked. You grew more giddy as you waited for him. “You have to open the gift first. Then If you still don’t get it, I’ll tell you.” you said. Elcid raised an eyebrow before sitting down and taking the gift in his hands. He gently opened the gift and saw the small shirt that said Daddy’s little helper. His mind took a minute to understand what that meant. He jumped from the chair and wrapped his arms around his wife. “You’re pregnant?” He whispered as tears filled his eyes. You smiled and nodded your head. He hugged her tighter and cried on her shoulder. This was the best thing he could have received.

Degel:

When he was told that you were pregnant, he dropped the book he was reading and raced back home. When he slammed open the door, he saw you sitting at the table with the biggest smile on your face. He walked over to you and wrapped his arms around you. “Is it true?” He whispered. You smiled even bigger and nodded your head. “Yes. I am pregnant. With twins.” You whispered, turning to face your husband. He took his glasses off and started crying. You stood from the chair and wrapped your arms around your husband. He buried his face in your shoulder and continued to cry. “This is the best day of my life.” He whispered in her neck. She smiled and buried her face in his chest.

Albafica:

He was confused. How was it possible that you were able to be so close to him enough to marry him. He was poison itself. However, here you were holding his hands to your stomach with the biggest smile on your face. “Albafica, your baby boy is in here.” She whispered happily. “You are going to be a father hon!” You whispered. Albafica couldn’t help the smile that sat on your face. He broke down in tears as he knelt down and pressed gentle kisses to your stomach. You ran your fingers through his hair and allowed the tears in your eyes to fall down your face. Albafica looked up at you and stood from his knees and wrapped his arms around you as you both cried against each other. “We are going to be the best family ever Y/n. I can’t wait for the baby to be born.” He whispered, pressing his lips against yours.

A/n: I couldn't get the last two photo's in!! Hope you enjoy it nonetheless

[melanielocke]

A surprise baby - part 2

After spending the night with Augustus Pounceby and being humiliated when he proposes to someone else, Eugenia Lightwood finds herself pregnant outside of wedlock. She doesn’t want to lose her child, but doesn’t know how to keep her situation hidden anymore, nor does she have any intention of marrying Augustus, or any man at that. Instead, she’s fallen in love with Kamala Joshi.

CW: Pregnancy

AO3

Part 1

Taglist: @foxglove-airmid @justanormaldemon @styxdrawings @ipromiseiwillwrite @alastair-esfandiyar-carstairs1

‘I hope you don’t like Charles too much,’ Kamala said. ‘As Alastair and I are having our weekly Charles Fairchild is an ass meeting and you’ve been invited to join.’

Eugenia would have considered Charles a friend once, but that was a long time ago. She’d thought once, that he was a more mature and sensible than his younger brother and had hoped he could talk some sense into the Merry Thieves. They certainly didn’t listen to her, and were the most reckless fools she’d ever encountered in her life.

But that was before Charles had abandoned Kamala in such a terrible way though. Who left their fiancée when they were sick? Kamala, it turned out, was glad to have dodged that bullet in the end. Eugenia guessed she felt the same way about Augustus now. She knew Kamala preferred women, and Eugenia began to suspect that she might not have a preference at all, and was in love with Kamala now.

It had been a few weeks since telling her parents and Thomas about her pregnancy. It had been decided Eugenia would have to travel for some time, but she wasn’t yet sure where and with who. With everything going on, Thomas preferred to stay in London with his friends.

‘Would it be possible to add Augustus Pounceby?’ Eugenia asked. ‘I mean, make it a weekly Charles Fairchild and Augustus Pounceby are both an ass meeting.’

‘Augustus Pounceby ís an ass,’ Alastair agreed. ‘He and I went to school together. He was the worst.’

Eugenia knew that at some point during his school years, Alastair had been awful as well. But since befriending him recently, he’d explained some of it and Eugenia could sympathize. The image of schoolboy Thomas trailing behind him was hilarious, especially now that she knew Thomas was deeply in love with Alastair. But it was also because Thomas had always noticed something was not right with Alastair, that he was hurting. Her little brother had always been awfully sensitive to other people’s moods, Eugenia couldn’t keep a thing from him. From Thomas’ stories, Alastair had grown and changed a lot since their school days, and Eugenia was glad for it because now she had two amazing friends she could hate on Augustus with.

She didn’t think anyone had ever treated Augustus badly, he simply believed he was better than everyone else and therefore deserved more. Even when Eugenia had been close to him, he’d always acted very entitled.

‘He is awful,’ Kamala agreed. ‘And racist. I agree we can hate on Augustus as well as Charles here. Who wants to share their feelings first?’

The afternoon was fun, and Eugenia felt welcomed into the group. Alastair and Kamala had been friends for a little longer, although that had taken a lot of effort on Kamala’s part. The problem was, a man and a woman spending time together was suspicious, and therefore there always had to be a third party present. At first that had been Grace, but she mostly seemed bored, and now her engagement with Charles was broken and Grace was gone… somewhere. Kamala was still looking into the whole thing as she had not given up on Grace, but Eugenia had no clue what had happened. Kamala and Alastair were glad to have Eugenia’s company, because even if the Bridgestocks did not approve of Alastair, at least they could be sure no one was ruining their daughter.

Alastair at some point decided to make fun of Charles’ posh accent, and Eugenia had to admit his imitation was on point.

‘I am thinking of traveling to India,’ Kamala said. ‘My parents… I know they love me, but they took me away from everything I know and pretend I was born here. I remember so little from India, I barely speak the language anymore. But I had a past there. And I’ve been trying to replicate the food my mom used to cook for me, but I never quite got it right.’

Eugenia had no idea what it was like, to be so disconnected from her culture and her homeland. Alastair knew a bit better. He still had his mother, but he hadn’t been in Persia for a long time and was estranged from his family. Eugenia suspected it was part of why Kamala and Alastair were so taken with each other, they both knew what it was like to live in England as someone who wasn’t white and who was disconnected from their homeland.

‘I’ll help you if you want to make another attempt at replicating your mother’s cooking,’ Alastair offered.

In the end when it was nearing dinner time, the three of them did go into the kitchen. Alastair apparently had learnt how to cook from their cook, Risa and mostly knew how to cook Persian food. Kamala knew a little about cooking, but mostly tried to go by smells she remembered from her childhood and vegetables she remembered had been in there.

Eugenia decided it was best for everyone involved if she sat back and watched. Tommy was the cook in the family. And her mother, of course, who had been a servant once. Eugenia, on the other hand, had been forbidden from entering the kitchen at home, and only helped with cutting up the vegetables here and there. Even she couldn’t mess that up, and if she ended up cutting herself, healing runes could be applied.

Bridget, the institute’s cook, was not too happy about them using the kitchen as a pastime, and released some very unsavory Irish curse words about the mess they were sure to make. Eugenia recognized the words, her mother was Irish too and she’d learnt the language, even if she had always struggled with learning languages. She responded in Irish, explaining what they were doing here as best as she could. For good measure she promised she would clean up.

‘I didn’t realize you spoke Irish,’ Kamala said.

‘I’m not great at languages, but I learnt Irish and Spanish from a young age,’ Eugenia said. ‘My mother is Irish and my father loves speaking Spanish at home. Tommy is better at languages though, he also speaks Welsh and Persian.’

Alastair stared at her, his eyes wide. ‘Thomas speaks Persian?’

‘He’s been studying Persian with Lucie,’ Eugenia said. ‘Lucie wanted to learn because she thought she should be able to speak her parabatai’s mother tongue. Thomas helped her because he’s so good with languages.’

Eugenia suspected his feelings for Alastair also played a role in his determination to learn the language. It was sweet, to learn someone’s language for them.

‘Charles never cared much about my language,’ Alastair said. ‘Nor what I said when I spoke it. I understand not everyone could learn, it’s not easy for an English speaker. But Thomas, he really speaks it?’

Eugenia imagined that had to be hurtful. She would love to learn Kamala’s language for her, even if she would never get any good at it. Still, it was the effort that counted, right? At least she hoped so.

‘He does read Persian poetry, so I imagine he grasps it. Don’t pin me down on it though, I don’t know how good he is. But he excels at languages and has been studying for several years now. He also helped James with learning for Cordelia. I was under the impression he speaks it quite well, doesn’t he?’

Alastair snorted. ‘I think he understand enough, but honestly his accent is embarrassing.’

Soon enough, the kitchen began to smell delicious. Kamala admitted what she’d made wasn’t quite what she remembered from home, but it was a better attempt than the last. Eugenia had had all sorts of cravings lately, not to mention a sensitivity to smells. She could barely stomach meat anymore, but she craved sweets at the most opportune moments.

Kamala and Alastair had made a vegetable dish with some rice and lots of spices, and the smell had to be the most amazing thing she’d smelt in a while. English food tended to be rather bland, favoring the flavor of meat and gravy which Eugenia currently couldn’t stomach. This was much better, and once they could eat, she made sure everything was finished even if Kamala and Alastair had cooked way too much for three.

‘Do they not feed you at home?’ Alastair asked when she finished her third plate. ‘Is it because Thomas eats everything? He must have gotten so ridiculously tall somehow.’

Eugenia snorted. Thomas was like a bottomless pit when it came to food, she suspected he was always hungry.

‘This is very good food,’ Eugenia said. ‘And I was very hungry.’ She contemplated what to say next for moment. Telling people about a pregnancy was a huge risk, but Alastair and Kamala were her friends. Apart from her parents and Thomas, they were the people she trusted more than anything. ‘I’m also eating for two people.’

Alright, at the moment she was eating for three people, but she blamed that on pregnancy cravings.

Alastair stared at her in confusion, Kamala in shock, her hand over her mouth.

‘You’re having a baby?’ Kamala whispered.

‘You can’t tell anyone,’ Eugenia said. ‘My parents and Tommy know, and now you, but beyond that no one can know. We’re still figuring out what to do. But as my closest friends, I thought you should know too. I don’t think I’d be able to hide it for much longer anyway.’

‘You could come to India with me,’ Kamala said. ‘I can hardly travel as a woman alone, and Alastair cannot leave his mother while she is about to give birth. We could return when you are about to give birth, make sure no one sees you until the baby is born, and the pretend we found the baby and don’t know whose it is except that they’re shadowhunters.’

Eugenia had to admit that plan was sound. She didn’t know anyone in India, no one who could spread the word she’d gotten pregnant out of wedlock. She could pretend she had a husband somewhere, but was traveling with her dear friend Kamala who wanted to reconnect with her home country.

‘Will your parents approve?’ Eugenia asked.

Kamala waved with her hand. ‘Oh, probably not. They do not approve of people calling me Kamala rather than Ariadne, or me spending time with Alastair, who they think is very improper company.’

Alastair shrugged. ‘They aren’t wrong.’

‘But I’m done seeking their approval,’ Kamala added. ‘I’m thinking of moving out. When I agreed to marry Charles, I had no one to fall back on, no support, only the very conditional love of my parents. But now that’s changed. Living as a woman alone would be unproper. But if you were to join me, dear Eugenia…. No one would question a thing.’

Would Kamala feel for her, as Eugenia did for her? She knew Kamala had recently broken things off with Anna, perhaps it was too soon. Eugenia loved her cousin, of course, but found it hard to accept that she treated her lovers as Augustus had treated Eugenia.

‘Would you help me care for the baby?’ Eugenia asked.

She knew reputation wise it was probably best to let someone adopt her child, but she didn’t want to. Eugenia did want to be a mother, and she didn’t want to wait around for another man who was only going to treat her badly.

‘Of course!’ Kamala exclaimed. ‘I’ve always wanted to be a mother, but after Charles I thought it wouldn’t happen. And I’ve had plenty of practice with little Alexander, I know how to take care of a child. And of course, Alastair will have plenty of experience soon enough.’

‘I’ll help you wherever I can,’ Alastair said. ‘And after several months of shopping for baby things with Cordelia, I know the best stores. Do you have any ideas for baby names?’

Eugenia had to admit she hadn’t thought about that yet. ‘If it’s a girl, her middle name will be Barbara,’ she said. ‘Beyond that, I have no clue. But we have at least four more months to figure it out.’

Alastair looked amused. ‘That is sweet. I am sorry about your sister.’

‘She would have loved the baby, I’m sure of it,’ Eugenia said.

‘Cordelia and I have been arguing about baby names ever since she found out mâmân was expecting.’

‘What did you come up with?’ Eugenia asked.

‘Rostam if it’s a boy. Shadi if it’s a girl. We both agreed the baby should have a Persian name, and with Father gone he won’t be able to object.’

‘Those are both lovely names,’ Kamala said.

‘I’m sorry about your father,’ Eugenia added. She didn’t think she’d offered him condolences yet. The funeral was days away now.

‘Don’t be,’ Alastair said. ‘He was… not a good father.’

She remembered Elias’ outburst at Cordelia’s wedding, how Alastair and James had dragged him off. Uncle Will and uncle Gabriel had attempted to distract people, but how much did that do, when everyone still left Sona and Alastair with him? She regretted not befriending Alastair sooner. She hadn’t known him all that well, honestly, not until he’d come to the sanctuary that day when Thomas had been arrested and she found out he’d been keeping her brother safe in secret.

‘Would you like to come take tea with me this week?’ Eugenia asked. ‘Both of you.’

Alastair hesitated. ‘With your parents? And your brother?’

Eugenia waved her hand impatiently. ‘Oh they’ll adore you. And they already know about those rumors, they’re not upset about stupid things you did when you were fifteen.’

Alastair didn’t say anything, and Eugenia wondered if he believed her. ‘I’m serious. My parents are very kind and forgiving. And they’re grateful you kept Tommy safe.’

‘I’m not sure it would be good for me to be around Thomas,’ Alastair said.

‘Because you still have feelings for him?’ Kamala asked.

‘Unfortunately, yes,’ Alastair said. ‘It is my curse, apparently, to always want what I can’t have.’

Eugenia rolled her eyes. ‘Always so dramatic, Alastair. Just ask my brother to go out for dinner with you. Tommy is old enough to choose for himself what he wants.’

[rosequartzstarswrites]

20 Questions for Writers

Thank you @cheesyficwriter for the tag!

How many works do you have on AO3?

27

What's your total AO3 word count?

351,699

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

As of now, I have only written for Harry Potter; however, in February I began several LOTR/Hobbit WIPs that I have not yet published. The first one is due out at the start of September though!

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

In Another Universe: Hermione Granger is brilliant: she completed her PhD in Linguistics at 25, and is the youngest faculty member at the University. Ron Weasley, an unruly quantum physicist... well, he's getting there. But when Granger gets stacked with a project she hates and has to talk to other scholars at the University, their paths cross and become permanently intertwined in a way neither of them could've ever anticipated. (Slow Burn Multichap Muggle Uni AU) Rated T.

Rosebury Grounds: Lady Hermione Granger has been reared up in society, to marry well and be a good housewife, like any good Edwardian lady, but that's far from what she wants. When a handyman by the name of Ronald Weasley joins the house staff, utterly disarming her from the moment they first meet, he might just be the opportunity she needs to break loose and choose her own destiny.Lord Draco Malfoy has a secret— a secret he knows would cost him everything if it ever saw the light. But it's getting harder and harder to keep it from his father, because Draco keeps bumping into a pair of emerald eyes and a head of lush black hair, and he can't pretend his knees don't buckle at the sight. Which would be quite alright, if not for one small problem: it's not a woman they belong to.Two tales of forbidden love, set in Edwardian England. (Multichap Muggle AU) Rated M.

Something Growing: Hermione’s pregnant— and she’s freaking out. She’s always been good at everything, but she’s not sure that’ll hold for being a mother; however, when Ron gets home earlier than expected, she realizes she doesn’t need to be great at everything so long as she’s got him beside her. (Oneshot) Rated G.

Big in Japan: Harry Potter is a famous rockstar out on a world tour— but when one too many meet-and-greets threatens to drive him insane, he takes an escapade out into the streets of Tokyo, where he ends up at an expat bar with a captivating redhead that seems totally unaware of who he is, or why she should know him at all, for that matter. (Muggle AU oneshot) Rated E.

Teaspoon Vindication: After escaping Malfoy Manor, Ron comes to visit Hermione in her room at Shell Cottage, and does the one thing that may be the hardest for him— talking about his feelings. (Romione oneshot)

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try my best, though I don’t always get to all of them! My reasoning is that if folks are kind enough to tell me how much they enjoyed my writing, the least I can do is thank them for their lovely words. 

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

The Last Farewell! It’s a Wolfstar oneshot, set in canon universe, where Remus comes to Sirius’s grave to ask for his blessing (and forgiveness) to marry Tonks. It was angst central from the start and I even wrote it while listening to an angsty song.

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

I generally write happy, fade-to-black endings, but if I had to choose I’d say Truth or Dare. This is a male!Hermione x Ron summer camp AU born of a game of spin-the-bottle/truth-or-dare that ends with them figuring out their feelings go beyond friendship. I say it is the happiest ending because I think the “boy figuring out he likes boys” scenario has been overdone in angst a bit too much, and the fact that the feelings are reciprocated and they decide to stay in touch would make me giddy if I was their age and in their shoes. Anyway, it’s just a sweet ending.

Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you've written?

Not at all— I actually don’t like crossovers at all, so I have never even entertained reading, let alone writing, one. (No hate at all to those with imaginations large and strong enough to conjure up awesome crossovers— I am in awe of you all, they’re just not for me!)

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Never, luckily, since the Romione community is so lovely and supportive! But, though not outright hate, for a while I had an anonymous FFN reviewer who left reviews on every chapter of Rosebury Grounds saying that my title was a porn/sex act...? I was distraught and scoured Google to see if they really were right and this was some obscure euphemism I’d entirely missed, but turns out it wasn’t, and they had gotten confused with a vulgar but similar term. So I ignored those reviews but they kept coming and then eventually one time I found a 500 word very graphic description of the sex act in question in my reviews, so desperate was the reviewer (apparently) to get their (wrong) point across. Yikes. 

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes! I’ve written a lot and of many kinds— explicit, implied, just foreplay, fade-to-black, referenced... I’ve written both M/F and M/M. 

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No— I didn’t even know that was something I should worry about!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I speak fluent Spanish, so I’m planning on translating In Another Universe and Rosebury Grounds myself once I’ve finished the latter. 

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, the most I’ve done is beta from the plot-building stage!

What's your all-time favorite ship?

Gahhhh don’t make me pick! Romione (HP) is first in my heart because I see so much of myself and what I want in it, but Samfro (LOTR) is, to me, the truest depiction of love in all of literature, ever. I will forever come back to it.

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

I hope to finish my Hogwarts Actually series that I started for Romionecom (hi, Discord friends!) inspired by Love Actually. I have it all planned out, translating all the relationships in the movie to HP pairings and friendships, and all I need to do is write— but I think I’ll come back to this periodically and unoften. Hopefully I’ll finish it!

What are your writing strengths?

I like to think that I write good and witty dialogue. I’m a theatre person, so I think my dialogue sounds mostly natural when spoken. I also have a good sense of beginning and ending, so most of my works/chapters start and end with a memorable phrase of some sort. I also have excellent grammar and spelling, so except for a few occasional typos, that makes the job of proofing much easier!

What are your writing weaknesses?

I think I sometimes write sentences that are waaaay too long and convoluted. I use words that are too big sometimes and just take approachability from my writing. Fanfic has been excellent to practice correcting this, though!

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

As a bilingual writer myself— don’t write dialogue in other languages unless you speak it well or get it translated directly through someone who speaks it well. Though I appreciate the effort, I can always tell when something was put through Google Translate, and that kind of dialogue most often ends up lacking the context clues/colloquial familiarity of real language speakers, and ends up sounding stiff and forced. 

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

I’m not proud of it, but I used to write MCR RPF back when I was 13 or so. It was a very brief stint and I have since deleted the works in their entirety, since my principles have evolved to the place where RPF to me seems disrespectful and invasive. Plus, it was on Wattpad.

What's your favorite fic you've written?

Again, don’t make me pick please!! I truly have had a lot of fun with Rosebury and I think it is a testament to how much I love it that I was able to keep the idea on hold for a full six months before I started writing it. I love the Downton setting and the Edwardian dialogue is a lot of fun to me. But I also have a soft spot for the In Another Universe original oneshot I submitted to the RFF2020— that work awoke my love for Muggle AUs (which I like to think I’m most known for), inspired me to start work on my first multichap fic, and keeps me coming back to it anytime I have doubt in my ability to write swoonworthy scenes. It was the oneshot that started it all. 

Tagging: @accio-broom @be11atrixthestrange @folk-melody (and anyone else who would like to!)

[bluecloudious]

Kinda angst I guess (but it has Zanaz so take that with a grain of salt)

Trying out writing a story this time.

I mean, yeah, I wrote for the comics, but not long dialog.

So yea, as per both the funni boys mature content warning. (There's no canoodling, there is talk of it tho.)

Also there's quite a bit of text (8 pages worth on Word)

So ye:

“Get up, I have some juicy gossip for you.”

...What?

I open my eyes and the world around me is blinding. It’s so bright that it takes a second to adjust to it. There’s nothing around me other than vast white and empty space.

This definitely isn’t Nevada anymore. (Unless Hank managed to ruin everything even further somehow.)

“Get up now, I know you heard me.”

I get up and look around. Who the hell is talking? There’s literally nothing but white for miles.

“I’m in your head, pretty boy.”

Uh, that…

“I’m holding my eyes closed, don’t worry. I regret ever having them open in here, in fact.”

Welp, that answers that. Now for the other question.

“Who I am is not important. What info I have, may be of interest, though.”

Alright?

“There’s a deal attached to this knowledge, Zanaz. Hear me out before you start fidgeting.”

I’ll sure try.

“You know Kits, right?”

No duh, he’s my best friend.

“Excellent. He’s going to die soon.”

…

What?! Wha, when, how, uh--

“Calm down, jitterbug. There’s nothing you can do to stop his fate, so don’t try. If he doesn’t die one way, another thing will go wrong. Understand?”

I-- NO! What the fuck?! Are you gonna kill him?!

“No, not me. I’m just sharing the news.”

Yeah, right, sure. Fucking… When then?

“Soon.”

How soon? In a month, week or a few days?

“Hm… A month then, give or take.”

...Fuck… How?

“Depends on what leads up to it.”

So, there are a lot of different ways it can happen, right?

“Indeed there are.”

...Do I die with him?

“No.”

NO?! In none of the different variations, I don’t die by his side?

“Oh, you can be by his side, of course. But death isn’t after you.”

What if I try to block a bullet, but it goes through both of us.

“Oddly specific. You’ll still survive.”

What if I block it with my head?!

“Brain damage, possible vegetable state. Will still survive though.”

What if Hank slices us with one of his multiple katanas?!

“People have lived through being sliced in half before.”

WHAT.

“This world has zombie clowns with god like powers and the AAHW is lead by a man consisting of black fire.”

...Ugh, fair enough. So… Wait those are all possible deaths for him?

“If you do everything in your power for it to happen, then yes.”

I… I can kill him before his time?

“Of course! You have free will, don’t you? It’s more of a question if you want to.”

Of course I fucking don’t! I care about him!

“I saw. You daydream about him an uncomfortable amount.”

He’s the main person I’m around, give me a break!

“Have you ever considered not being horny?”

Until I’m castrated, there’ll be nothing of the sorts.

“You’re not even fertile! None of the clones are!”

You think I’m tryna get anyone pregnant at this sausage fest? Besides, that has not stopped me before.

“I refuse to believe that any of those scenes I saw play out in your head happened for real.”

You’d be surprised then.

“WHICH?!?”

Those are for me to treasure.

“...You’re pulling my leg.”

Believe what you want.

“Augh, never mind, TMI. Back onto the topic at hand.”

Oh, yeah, right. Kit… Dying…

Could you for real not give me a date?

“If it depends on the circumstances beforehand, then there’s no possible way to tell which one belongs to this timeline.”

And that means…?

“I don’t know how this Kits dies.”

Can I at least warn him?

“Well, there’s where the other side of the deal comes in. If you tell him, then the effect kicks in immediately.”

What effect? Death?

“Precisely.”

...Ah. Wait, so if I don’t tell him, he dies in a month but if I do, he dies immediately? Of what?

“Stroke, heart attack or brain aneurysm. Chosen at random. Oh, also sneak assassination. That’s also a valid option.”

...This feels set up.

“Mh?”

This feels like either you or whoever sent you here set this up so I’d suffer. You enjoy the pain of others, don’t you?

“I’m only the messen--”

Yeah, yeah, Messenger Bullshit. Then whoever decided this is probably a reality tv producer, who is jacking off to someone pushing in the soft part of a baby’s skull as we speak. You encourage such behaviour by working with them, ya know.

“...Do you think you sound smart?”

I know for a fact I’m not, so no. I’m pretty sure I’m on the money with this one though.

“If I wasn’t here then Kits’ death would come as a surprise to you though!”

I’d prefer that, actually! Now I have to deal with knowing that he… He… Won’t be here anymore soon.

“Well, knowing how overwhelmingly perverted you are, wouldn’t you wanna grab this opportunity?”

...What?

“Shoot your shot, ask him out. Not like you could do it with a corpse… …Right…?”

I may be horny, but I’m not messed up.

“Had to make sure.”

Ugh, you’re just making fun of me, aren’t you?

“Which instance are you referring to?”

Kit would never date me.

“And why exactly do you think that?”

He has standards?

“You’re a decently handsome fellow. You also get along with him just fine.”

That… That’s not a determinant of shit like that. There’s way better out there for him.

“He won’t meet em then. Only a month to live, remember?”

I… It’s not worth it.

“What isn’t?”

I know he’ll say no, there’s no point in trying.

“How do you know for sure until you actually ask?”

Cause it’s obvious! He’s actually got a brain in his noggin and he knows me way too well! He’d be fucking disgusted, man! We’re just friends and that’s that.

“Do you not want to then?”

...Why do you assume I do? How do you know that those aren’t just blissful fantasies like the rest of them?

“He’s the only one that you dream of in a non-perverted way. I see no other person in this graphic landscape that you want to hold hands with. (Also, I am closing my eyes again now, Jebus Christoff.)”

...Ffffuck.

“Well, did hit the nail on the head?”

Y-You’re stupid and gay!

“I’m rubber, you’re glue.”

That doesn’t affect me, I’m already openly gay and stupid!

“I guess we’re both such then.”

Dammit.

“So, you gonna give him a month to remember or not?”

…Eh?

“Come on, how much romance could a member of the A.A.H.W. really experience throughout their lifetime? If you’d make this month worth his and your own time, perhaps it would be less painful to see him go? At least he died happy?”

THAT WOULD BE EXTRA PAINFUL FOR ME, THOUGH!

“Oop, Zanaz selfish, you heard it here first, folks.”

That’s not what I meant. I’d already be upset over losing my best friend, imagine how fucking devastating losing a sweetheart would be.

“…I dunno, still sounds selfish to me. Does his happiness not mean anything to you?”

Who says he’d be happy with me?

“I know you want to make him happy, at least. You dream about his smile.”

STOP FUCKING LOOKING THOUGH MY THOUGHTS!!

“I’m not looking anymore, I just memorized the ones I already saw. (I wish I couldn’t.)”

I- You- Fucking-- UggHHH! It’s not worth it!

“What exactly do you imagine will happen if you tell him how you feel, huh? World combusts?”

I already told you, he already knows way too much about me! He’d be fucking grossed out and we’ll… We’ll stop being friends.

He’d quicken his pace whenever we’d have to pass each other in one of the halls. He’d desperately keep his glance away from me. He’d… I’d stop being the main person he talks and comes to company for a-and I can’t fucking have that, man!

I-I wouldn’t be able to handle it. He means too much to me.

“…I had no idea you were this insecure.”

FUCK OFF! It’s a bitter reality that I’ve come to accept!

“You haven’t even given it a shot!”

You don’t need to get crushed by a piano to know you’d die on impact!

“Those two things don’t correlate even remotely!”

It’s a metaphor!

“I know that, I’m saying that Kits has a thing for you too!”

…He what?

“He has major league crush on you! The things you say when play-flirting excite him! He’s gotten off to the thought of you touching him up! The works! (Why did I word it like that?)”

Whuh-- How the fuck do you know this??

“While you were monologuing, I visited his subconscious and confirmed it for myself.”

You can do that??

“You don’t even know my name.”

...Fair nuff. So, wait, he’s actually gotten off thinking about me?

“I don’t even need to open my eyes to already know you’re imagining it. Short answer, yes. He’s into you, Zanaz.”

Augh, I dunno what to do with this info. It’s kinda... Overwhelming in a way.

Actually, wait, how do I know you haven’t been lying to me this whole time?

“I’m an incorporeal voice in your head that’s having a back and forth with you in a white void.”

Yeah, and?

“…I’m supernatural?”

Yeah, and?

“Come on! I just know, okay?!”

Sounds fake, not gonna lie.

“The part where I knew that Kits was gonna die was convincing, but the moment I mention that he might have a thing for you, you question the validity of my claims thus far??”

One sounds way more far-fetched than the other, you gotta admit.

“NO IT DOESN’T?!?!”

For you maybe! I’ve known him since I’ve been out the cloning tube! We became agents together! I think I’d know what kinda stuff is off the table for him, buddy.

“Well, not only are you wrong, you’re in denial.”

I am not!

“Then try it! Just attempt asking him out! In the very least, you’ll remain friends after. I promise you. Cross my heart and all that jazz.”

…

…You’re absolutely positive? You are also the person that told me he’d die in a month’s time.

“A hundred percent positive. I have never been more sure of anything in my life.”

You have a life?

“Unfortunately. So, you’ll do it?”

Why’re you so adamant about me fucking Kits?

“Affgdgfdgfg, it’s not about you fucking him, it’s you making his last living month worthwhile!”

Okay, so, why do you want me to do that?

“…Do you not??”

I mean, I guess that sounds worth my time. But you didn’t answer my question.

“Sorry for assuming that you want the person you’re madly in love with to be happy, I guess??”

Apology accepted. Now, how do I get outta here?

“Ugh, just wake up.”

Whu--

And I’m sitting up in my own mat, back at the facility. The clock shows that it’s early morning.

What the fuck do I make of what I just saw? Or heard, for that matter? It clearly wasn’t a normal dream, I never remember those. Plus the topic tends to blur together usually.

I gotta tell-- Wait, I can’t do that, fuck.

…

It’s way to early for shit like this, man!!

Augh…

[ussjellyfish]

Fic Writer Review

(I’m doing the Star Trek edition and just focusing on my Trek fics, for fun).

Thanks for tagging me, @curator-on-ao3! I tag @aleksandrachaev and @justanalto, @holdouttrout , @meanderings0ul, @lorcaswhisky @pixiedane @rikerssexblouse if you fancy it, and anyone who feels like it. (scroll to the end to copy paste the questions)

how many works do you have on AO3?

354 total, 166 if I just count Star Trek and crossovers with Star Trek

what’s your total AO3 word count?

2,194,290 (I am wordy and badass!)

Behind a cut for length.

how many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

I’ve written for 38 fandoms total. I have fic from Star Trek TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY, DSC, PIC and AOS. I sadly have no Lower Decks fic. (I feel like that would be hard to get write, I’m not that funny)

what are your top 5 fics by kudos? (only Trek fics)

354 kudos, Village Building (Voyager, Janeway/Chakotay) 87925 words which I cowrote with Jacks, who is not on tumblr (she’s from LJ days though we’re still facebook friends!) and a lovely lovely human. It’s Janeway/Chakotay season 5 babyfic and it’s very gentle and sweet and is a really lovely piece about how the crew would look after Kathryn and make space for her to live her life while being captain. Has some very excellent Tom and Kathryn, Kathryn and B’Elanna scenes.

250 kudos, Stellar Entanglement (Voyager, Janeway/Chakotay) 29979 words, which is oddly enough a gift for someone who hated one line of it and we didn’t talk for years. We got over it eventually, but it was rough. (the thing we fought about? how long parental leave would be and I, being an american, thought 6 weeks was normal because my country is evil for parents)

The fic itself is lovely! Kathryn gets pregnant after a one night stand with Chakotay , but he’s on a long distance mission, so they’re separated for most of it, then she goes on an excellent space road trip with Seven. There’s a nice scene in here I like with Nechayev and Kathryn and I had a great time writing Seven trying to find her place in the Alpha Quadrant.

217 kudos, Mending (Voyager, Janeway/Chakotay) 15155 words

This is a classic Opal fic because it’s 100% “but what if this wild thing happened and she was pregnant”. Kathryn time travels instead of Chakotay in the episode “Shattered” and she’s very very pregnant, and her crew that she doesn’t know well get her home. Has some of my favorite B’Elanna & Kathryn scenes I’ve ever written.

189 kudos, For the Asking, TNG Beverly Crusher & Deanna Troi, background Beverly/Jean-Luc, Deanna/Will 2138 words

Deanna reads Beverly’s thoughts about sex in a staff meeting and they tease each other it and have a very good discussion. It’s sweet and friendly and I reread it when I want to feel that brilliantly good friend feeling.

154 kudos, Firefly (Discovery, Philippa Georgiou (Mirror) & Michael & Tilly & like..Disco crew. Philippa Georgiou & making friends

This fic is my beloved and I am giddy it’s on this top five. It’s so fun (for me). The Guardian of Forever gives Philippa the choice to stay in the 31st century with Michael and Discovery, in exchange for a very tiny minor cellular change, which is a baby. (she and Chris had some confusingly nice sex before she left).

It’s one of my least commented fic and the one where I feel like it’s just going out into the void (but it has a lot of kudos! good work little fic).  I have so much fun with it though. Philippa and conversations where she is mildly human is a blast. The fight scenes turned out well (even though they’re really hard to write) and Philippa and Tilly is brilliant. I love it. I love them. This is so my favorite right now and I’m so happy it’s on the list.

This is the best part of the meme, right here.

(side note, 4 of my top 5 are babyfic, so at least I’m on brand).

do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try to. I feel like I ought too. Sometimes I’m so busy behind exhausted embarrassed (how to I reply when people are nice to me! gah) that I don’t. Often it’s simply because I want to write more fic and my free time is so limited. I love them, I really really love them. It is so kind of people to comment. I short circuit often with replying to praise.

what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Oh it’s definitely When I the Starry Courses Know, which is Janeway/Borg Queen and she makes a deal to go with Queen if the Queen will save the ship, and she goes. It’s full of depression and self-doubt. It’s one of the best dark things I’ve ever written.

do you write crossovers? if so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Archaic Diseases, TNG/Battlestar Galactica.  I have a very sweet crossover where Beverly Crusher saves Laura Roslin from cancer and Laura has a bit of a crush. It’s rather lovely. 

have you ever received hate on a fic?

Sure, there’s a few people who just seem to get angry about things, or willfully miss the point. Sometimes I just get weird weird comments that leave me feeling angry or uncomfortable (I have a current string on a Beverly/Kathryn fic that I might just stop reading, because I don’t really need to know.

do you write smut? if so what kind?

Lazily, far less often than I used to. I like feelings more than detail and I’ve gotten much less interested in sex lately in fic. I’ve written f/f and m/f and some threesomes (one foursome). Keeping track of hands is hard. I write a lot of women receiving oral sex, I think that’s easiest for me to write.

have you ever had a fic translated?

I don’t think so.

have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! the one up above with Jacks, and a few others. It’s a very different and fulfilling experience. I like being surprised. It’s full of surprises.

what’s your all time favorite ship?

Discovery!  Ummmm, wait no the romantic kind. Right this second? Beverly/Kathryn, because it’s so comfortable for me and brings to gether so many things I like about the characters.

(Philippa Georgiou/Kat Cornwell gets a nod though, because I’m thinking about them often lately)

what’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Captain Tilly’s Gambit - Tilly plays war games against Saru and has Philippa (imperial varietal) as her first officer. It’s one chapter, and I thought it was a one shot but I guess I have to write the fighting? space fighting is hard...It’s a very good fic though. I’d like to finish it. (Maybe after Fortnight of Kat/Pippa?)

what are your writing strengths?

world building, little details that make it feel Star Trek, dialogue, Sylvia Tilly, she is the best POV character for me and I just adore writing her.

what are your writing weaknesses?

Vagueness, I tend to write in a void without much description, I nearly always write 3rd person limited. I’m not very exact with typos and often things I’ve posted will still have errors.

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

If I can find someone who speaks the language, great, otherwise I usually have the gist of it or “A spoke Vulcan, which sounded great but B had no idea what it meant.” I try to avoid it.

what was the first fandom you wrote for?

It was Star Trek the Next Generation!! It was a big time travelling confusing messy wonderful First Contact AU. It’s not as bad as it being 20+ years old makes it sound.

what’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Firefly! It’s gen babyfic and I feel like it’s in the intersection of so many things that aren’t what people want to read and it definitely feels like the thing I just write and post and out into the void. There are chapters of it that don’t have comments at all.

I am fortunate that I have people willing to read it while I’m working on it, which is lovely, and it’s so important to me.  I adore it. I love the process, I love thinking about it. It’s just important to me. The character arcs and moments and conversations I get to write for that mean so much to me.

I feel like the number of people I talk about it with fits on a hand, but you’re all lovely and I adore you too.

Uncharted (VOY/TNG) Kathryn Janeway/Beverly Crusher, Words: 56,764, kudos 137.

It’s the one thing I’ve written that’s most like a novel, has the tightest plot, the most research and characters and is most like a Trek episode, I think because there’s so much going on and often I write things that have very little going on. This is very different, and sometimes rereading it makes me cry.  It has all the best heroic parts of Star Trek.

The questions!!

   Fic Writer Review

how many works do you have on AO3?

what’s your total AO3 word count?

how many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

do you respond to comments, why or why not?

what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

do you write crossovers? if so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

have you ever received hate on a fic?

do you write smut? if so what kind?

have you ever had a fic stolen?

have you ever had a fic translated?

have you ever co-written a fic before?

what’s your all time favorite ship?

what’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

what are your writing strengths?

what are your writing weaknesses?

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

what was the first fandom you wrote for?

what’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

[bourbon-ontherocks]

So I guess now is a good time to start a new series of (re)watch posts, amirite?

May I present you the official start of “Previously, in season 4 (re)watch...”?

Dog butt!!! They really recast Buddy and Beth this season, huh?

WHY DOES EVERYONE IN AMERICA SEEM TO HAVE ADHD FFS?????

WHY DID HE SHAVE???? WHY???? Honestly Josh's beard was literally the only thing that made him remotely fuckable, now he looks like a grumpy Jake Peralta on a bad day and it's NOT a compliment...

I don't understand why Annie keeps booking therapy session with Josh while their dynamic is getting unhealthier by the minute...

So these morons are now cannonically quizzing each other about the days of the week. It's more official than ever, they're idiots.

"So you do understand the concept of time"  @sothischickshe​ WERE YOU A CONSULTANT ON THE SHOW?????

"Kind of like being almost pregnant" Okay I have SO MANY questions here. Did Rio find out about the pregnancy lie??? How? WHEN? Why didn't we get to see him reacting to the news? I -- what -- NBC YOU CAN'T DROP A BOMB LIKE THIS AND EXPECT ME TO KEEP QUIET OKAY

Lowkey expected Rio to make a sexual innuendo in response to "don't touch that it's still wet" tbh...

Okay so, so far we've got: fart jokes. Unhealthy therapy session. Idiots reciting the days of the week. If that's announcing the general level of the season, oh Lord, have mercy

ATTENTION EVERYONE!!! BETH IS SERVING INDUSTRIAL COOKIES IN HER HOUSE, I REPEAT, BETH IS SERVING INDUSTRIAL COOKIES IN HER HOUSE

Wait. So Beth signs up on Phoebe's class because of her faint, right? HOW could Phoebe anticipate that? Sounds like a lot of efforts put into a plan that wasn't likely to work in normal circumstances... Also, how did Phoebe recruit all these people???

I love that Beth's incentive to get Dean to do anything is mentioning Rio. And that it's enough.

Dean x Eric is my new ship goal. Derrick. Gosh I love this splashing scene!

Can we all agree that this Boland Bubbles logo is absolutely ugly?

gotta say, it really takes an idiot to paint OVER a sprinkler...

Is it me or is this a Beth x Phoebe (x squats) sapphic vibe?

So, um, not only are Beth and Dean under A LOT of suspicions, but they thought that bribing an official representant of the authorities was a good idea???? Is everyone really dumb in this show?

Honestly I don't think the writers would have made Rio say canonically that he owned the place if it hadn't been such a popular headcanon in the fandom. I'm growingly convinced that one of you mutuals is Bill Krebs and I want to know WHICH ONE

Actually it's not a bad thing that Rio owns the bar given how loudly Beth describes their criminal enterprise in it...

Also can we talk about how Rio casually brings up the concept of dropping panties? To Beth?? In a BAR????

LOL at Beth not knowing any drink without caffeine or booze! Also LOVE Rio's little shocked head-tilt at this

Okay but WHAT other stuff Emo Boi has on his mind?? Is he just being dramatic or are we bound to see his nun cosplay soon??

OMG this man has absolutely no notion of personal space. Not that we didn't already know that. But DAMN

Beth's face and incredulous "I am?" when Rio tells her that she was right is absolutely GOLD

What an EXCELLENT idea to write and sign an incriminating letter right before the cops interrogate you. Also, I seriously doubt Dean will ever think about looking behind the family picture. His interactions with it will probably be limited to covering it with a shirt while he'll screw his secretary on the desk

Beth's handwriting is as bad as Rio's tbh

Okay I have to admit that an Annie x Mick scene wasn't something I thought would ever happen in canon. How does she have his phone number though? Do they really have a group chat? *gasp*

Also there's only one car in this parking lot. Did Mick pick Annie up somewhere? And stopped for Chinese without offering her something to eat? I have so many logistic questions

WHY IS EVERYONE ON THIS SHOW OBSESSED WITH PARENTHOOD??? Seriously, being a parent doesn't suddenly make you a good person

Hahaha, I love that Mick's beard has apparently magic cleaning skills since there isn't an ounce of sauce on that

YOU SOUND LIKE YOUR SISTER!!!!!

Ugh, another picnic table in the dark Brio scene... Honestly I feel like I've seen this scene ten times already? Could we change settings a little?

Did she seriously call him a tiger???? Are they petnaming already?

I'll never get over any scene where Beth overdoes cooking in a WILD fashion

Beth mentioning Rio dying of old age gave me THOUGHTS...

So, um. Last season I was definitely open to the suggestion of a Beth x Fitz storyline, I thought that there really was a potential and some sexual tension in the air, but then you give me this??? No build-up?? Just a creepy guy a la Trent from Crazy Ex Girlfriend (he's just a boy in love, but STILL)? Also, why is everyone in town hitting on a MARRIED woman? Not that I give that much importance to the institution of marriage, but like, everyone is hitting on Beth like some fanfic Mary Sue at this point...

This crying scene is so weird

OH MY GOD THEY'RE BUSTING DEAN, I CAN’T BELIEVE IT, WHAT A CLIFFY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Nah, just kidding, I don't give a shit...)

Bonus: FINALLY someone is asking the good questions

[renee-writer]

Roommate Wanted Chapter 65 John and Hector

AO3

Óri is lifted up by his Auntie mam and is not happy about it. He is crawling about everywhere and is displeased when he is forced to stop. But, he has to be changed and dressed for the company they are having today.

“They own a restaurant. Everything has to be perfect.” Claire frets as she works in the kitchen. They are baking salmon over lemon slices and twice baked potatoes, as well as a huge salad that Jamie is cutting vegetables for.

“Mo ghrá, they are coming to see us. The meal is secondary.” She nods but he can see the worry still in her eyes. He sets the knife down and comes and wraps his arms around her. “Imagine their surprise when we announce we are having another.”

He feels her relax as she chuckles. “That will be fun.”

The table is set, the foot is ready, the little prince is nicely dressed and content after a good nursing. They are ready. The door bell rings at six, on the dot. Jamie steps forward to answer it.

“Welcome to Lallybroch. I am Jamie,” he introduces himself to Hector. “Come in and meet the rest of the family.” They step into the foyer.

“Oh, this is exquisite.” Hector says.

“Thank you. We strived to keep the old feel.”

“Claire, my dear, you are glowing. Jenny, you look quite lovely tonight. Hi Óri. Remember me.” The little boy buries his face in his Auntie mam’s neck.

“Stranger awareness. Don’t worry. It isn’t that he doesn’t like you.” Claire explains to John.

“No worries there. Let me introduce you to my partner, Hector. Hector meet Claire Beauchamp-Fraser and her wife, Jenny Beauchamp-Fraser. This is Óri James Lambert Fraser, all their son.”

“Kudos for recalling his whole name.” Jamie says with a laugh.

“I am good with names. Helps to recall our returning guests by their names. Oh, and this is Jamie Fraser, Claire’s husband, Óri’s daddy and, Jenny’s brother.”

“What an extraordinary family you have created. I am Hector José Ramirez.”

“Welcome to our home. Would you like the tour or to eat first!” Jenny asks while handing Óri to his daddy.

“Eat first. The salmon smells divine.” John answers for them.

They are soon sitting around the table with Óri in his highchair picking at the bits of salmon and potato he has been given.

“You were right, love. This salmon is divine.” Hector says. Claire grins and releases her held breath.

“Thank you. With you guys owning a restaurant, it was a bit nerve wracking to cook for you.” She admits.

“Please lass.” Hector replies. Lass sounds a bit funny with his Hispanic accent. “You have nothing to fear. You are a great cook. But even if you weren’t, we are hear to visit with you not to be impressed by your kitchen skills.

“Thank you.”

They eat quietly for awhile. Even Óri, who when he is done playing with his food, places a piece of salmon in his mouth and finds he likes it.

“So, how does this work? Do you guys take turns?” They are sitting in the living room after Jamie gave them a tour of the house. With after dinner whisky for all but Claire, John’s innovations inhibitions are lowered and he asks the question that has been bugging him.

“Actually yes. I share both Jamie and Jenny’s rooms. Have stuff in both. At first we were trying one night here one night there. But it didn’t work. Human desire doesn’t work on a schedule. So now, I just join whomever I wish to be with. It tends to even out.”

.

“There is no jealousy?” Hector asks. He has been making funny faces at Óri, who is perched on his daddy’s knees.

“Well, sometimes. Claire is pregnant again and Jenny didn’t take it well.”

“Again?” John looks to Óri then Claire, back to Óri.

“Yes, it wasn’t planned. I was a bit upset. You see, Claire and I had been talking about adopting when Óri was one. Jamie convinced us, we still could. I love being Auntie mam to him. Lord knows I love that child like I have given birth to him myself. I just want a child that is mine and my wife’s.”

“Understand that. So you are going to be having another baby and trying to adopt?”

.”Yes John. We know it will be hard. Chaos will be the result. But I love them both so much. I love my son, this baby. I love the idea of providing a home and family to a needy child.”

“You three are and will be awesome parents. Know that Uncles John and Hector are available to babysit, with a little notice.”

.

“We might take you up on that. What about you guys? Any plans to have children?”

“Yes Jenny. We are waiting until our second anniversary to try. Thinking of using a surrogate. Combining our sperm. So we have equal shots to be the bio father. Not that we won’t both be daddy.”

“Well I will be papa and you daddy.” Hector adds.

“That is wonderful. You two will be excellent parents too.”

They sit and talk for a few hours more. Claire nurses Óri and Jamie carries him up to bed. They discuss parenthood, the restoration of Lallybroch, their restaurant and, both unique families. When they bid them, good night, the Beauchamp-Frasers know that they have new best mates.