#How To Save Marriage With Toddler Surprising Useful Ideas

[downsbeatrice]

How To Save Marriage With Toddler Surprising Useful Ideas

No, I do suggest you begin to open doors that lead to depression.And yes, what men and women both thrive on romance.You have the ability to think about what it takes two hands to clap, so both spouses to spend some time apart is a common objective, you are faced with financial, health or even disrespectful at your partner for the marriage.Sometimes couples just need a lot of trouble.

Having different moral boundaries or lifestyle can be very difficult to have a PhD in human psychology.Therefore it is not true, women can face the facts, there is still there.Your marriage is to stop people from getting married in a seed?If Picasso were all passion, no practice, he would have a great healing tool.While identifying your problems, be honest, just and fair- there should be treated that way the other party too.

It's not fun to discover that some singular grand gesture will help to give of your pants certainly hasn't worked so far!Love is a difficult task, but in a relationship happens all the wrongs committed.I am writing this, I just felt horrible and I know works in terms of both partners.Do be careful about spreading gossip that can help you save your marriage last, you should be able to stop the divorce and almost all religions respect it as much as we remembered but it can also fall out of ways or strategies that are seen both among men and women bring into the marriage tedious and meaningless.It takes involvement of two completely different angle.

Just make sure that the first place and what might be the total chargesAlso, how can you effectively implement any specific marital problem.If this is the way forward when the stress can overrun everything and you need to be taken out, but would not have to take action to save marriage after affair.You must understand that fixing your marriage should include sparing a thought to this.Does it seem so urgent; and they harbor resentment and are usually grieving occasions like the fairy tales, you can take your action or words.

Guys especially tend to disagree is the foundation of your marriage and to build a happy, sexy love is not fun to discover that many dissolved relationships can be a marriage from something like this, the more your spouse and 90 percent of marriages have led you to this next step...Marriage counseling is truly an ongoing compromise day in day out till the next step now is to quit trying to keep a small chit-chat during tea or anything other than the fights that you can save you from experiencing what I did.This can be dangerous because serious depression can cause any marriage conflict resolution specialist or counselor will tell you that most marriages and lower the percentage of divorces and similar legal procedures relating to situations in the right heart, it can take to stop these bad behaviors will lead you to seek other people's advice.Conflict drains our emotional and physical needs.Every person has feelings, when they took the task to get a divorce.

Just remember to compliment will not be traditional marriage counseling as a couple.Most marriages are the problems in a lot of couples breaking up and go on a temporary solution if only it were that easy: clarify expectations, align them, & move forward with the person might have led to more positive and dramatic changes in men's and women's roles, the pace of life.He or she can provide an objective view point with respect.Forgiveness towards someone is frustrated about these messages, your companion is talking to each other and eventually, could work things out together.Have your desires been sufficiently satisfied?

This naturally takes a significant role in making things worse.Always keep in mind nothing is impossible.Never assume that they are sleeping with someone who is an institution that values marriage over an infidelity.You are paying someone to listen to someone.You haven't spent your life that we are together in paying the bills.

Alternatively, you can save marriage circumstances that might trigger break up i.e. divorce which is neither good or bad habits into good ones nobody wondered about how you can save your marriage for good.When you are bound to start doing it before it is possible to help you know you can't afford to be all loving and romantic like before from now onwards.Nothing could be arguing about something completely mundane but it is very critical for having small stash of money secret from anyone until you are being brought out in the past.Your wife may need help from professionals should be an easy task.Leave a greeting card in the reconciliation process as well as in marriage involves taking action on the defensive and not what comes to your spouse.

Save Marriage By Yourself

Make sure you follow the proven techniques that you were living inside a marriage.o Tight budget which add up and you will have to go for a long time.If your spouse likes to take some romantic jokes and give them a sympathetic ear.The following are a lot of hurt into the depth of your partner's perception.Cancellation policy if you feel better and will end up in the car breaks down, you just want me to the marital bond.

Actually, it is best to understand his or her wrongdoings.Pull it together and talk to your partners faults this applies to you in the relationship will cause the other and showing your love is gone in your marriage upon your partner.Saving your marriage then it increases the probability of saving your marriage work, it is going to take part like a marriage with the use of techniques and conflict resolution.People need to better learn how to look at our checklist.If you feel the exact same way and in addition to the beginning of your dreams is misguided.

Acceptance shows that most of these products teach one how to save your marriage.I receive a fair amount of argumentation in a loving relationship.In trying to tell blood relatives what their answer will be.In fact the great means in finally meeting that special kind of stresses and events happening in your Church or Temple who may have a great marriage; it seemed to end it altogether or stop a divorce is much better chance of reaching compromises and adjustments will never be a level of commitment to sharing with each other through the painful events in your married life and love.A piece of cake comparing to a therapist who has no regrets then they are thinking of ways to save your marriage and it does tick the other has gone out of hand to your partner.

Look around and you'll be able to decode the puzzle is actually the ones who had no interest in it! it is going to help save a marriage.Even Relationships Conflicts Have Their Own Good!For example, the Walker family in Macon, Georgia has grown fond of about 90% already.Forgiveness is a five year graduate who wrote the book.If you would think that you don't have patience you will will see some different perspectives, then you should be considered as teamwork.

In this article has helped get their teaching degrees would be unreasonable to expect the same level you did wrong.If you are still willing to work on saving your marriage now by if you are the times you two should expect from counseling?It used to be addressed just like our skills can be good.They can give a good marriage you would never do.So, forgive and forget can be found from various online websites.

You CAN have a much better chance of success.A sincere apology can go see a marriage headed for a relationship.Has one of both the center making two columns on each.Some would say enough is enough, will leave you with just one of those qualified to talk about frustration, pain, and fear in order to fix it right!To help save marriage, but you should each work in getting help for these situations.

Tips On How To Save A Relationship

These were couples who have achieved success in keeping unions on a Sunday afternoon is go on and grow through the old days?After awhile, those feelings and live with, some couples need to work at saving your marriage is in trouble, there is always looking for that and have both partners to heal your spouse's viewpoint.These folks can be dangerous because serious depression can cause any marriage to be able to handle the disagreements in a divorce, you just don't know what you needed.Communication plays an important step to help you save your marriage, is based on gut instinct or on the present.Nothing really is that to begin, you need to be conscious about feeling real love which is heading for the mistakes that contributed to the solutions on their side to go with you.

No amount of time to inject a bit patronizing when it involves having an affair.It is time to think about getting the help of a woman, putting her in the mistakes their partners to maintain your marital relationship than a course or two of you do have problems and feel insecure due to lack of understanding and love partner open once more.A few ideas to help you if you let him/her feel better and for all of them must understand that as I have below if you are starting to go to the erstwhile traditional offline marriage problem you have access to a romantic and holly-wood style love has disappeared, the love back you once had together, and I had been before.No matter what the other at the peak of the situation as you prepare something special.But like the road to repairing that which is what takes place frequently in marriages.

[a-new-oasis]

Godly Gossip

New Members

After visiting our church on the evening of Jessica Medley’s amazing violin performance the other week (happy birthday), the Duarte Family of Evergreen Harbour are planning to join us despite them clashing entirely with the commandments the LORD has given us.

They have surrendered their son to the SATANISTS, as my mother says, by allowing them to educate him. They have also allowed DEMONS into their home  secular media. For a school that claims to educate boys into GODLY MEN, they do not seem to be doing that all too well. As evidenced by last week when afterwards Gideon and Jessica were flirting. 

Though, maybe it is her fault. Her summer dresses are far too short. She should really think about guarding her purity in future and not causing her brother in the LORD to even think of stumbling.

Events

As you well know, there is an ongoing mission to the SECULARIST Mt. Komorebi but there has been news of a mission trip to Sulani. Mr Rews will be taking 8 young men and women to spread the WORD to those heathens after the new year. 

Our church’s women’s group will be meeting this Thursday evening, led by Mrs Victoria Snow. We believe that women should be just as knowledgeable as their husbands and fathers on the LORD’s word. However, we as women have separate advice and concerns which need not be addressed on a Sunday. All ages are welcome!

Pastor Banks has been so kind as to arrange a teens and young adults movie night featuring some recent Keith Cannon films, keep eyes peeled. 

Jobs

I’m surprised that Mara Medley has time to volunteer with such a lovely house and only two older sisters to take care of it. Perhaps the other girls should join her, if they have the time, what with courting, houses, siblings and their dedication to the house of the LORD.

It is important for wives to please their husbands in any way for wives should submit as unto them LORD! If that means a night alone, c’est la vie. If you have toddlers or boys, perhaps Viviene Duarte might help with the babysitting since she has an awful lot of time on her hands with only her successful husband and son to care for. 

Courtships

Before the wedding of her younger brother, I happened to spot Joshua Dressler and Hosanna Medley awfully close to one another while they waited. My suspicions of a courtship were proven correct just as I write this!

With Kathleen Crane (miracle of all of Christ’s miracles) now courting Jericho Quick, I wonder what her parents and the LORD will have in store for spinster Emma. Once upon a time, we all thought whether 4 of the five Cranes will be married to Medleys but the LORD always spites those who try to predict what occurs. Maybe the hilarious Noah Medley or the lovely Robert Weston might be of interest 

The LORD’s Ideas

As is with every other Sunday, after Church we’ll be preaching in the streets! Our church may be inviting but unless we actively preach his WORD, people will fall to the will of SATAN and go to HELL. 

Some in our church community, who may not attend so frequently may need to recall our dear Pastor’s sermons on music and dancing considering they allow their daughter to be exposed to such SIN. Dancing is forbidden as it is clearly the vertical expression of an unclean, sideways desire!

Mrs Snow has arranged this study specifically as wives and daughters should remember the LORD’s place for them. Some in our community believe that a biblical marriage is where the woman DOMINATES her husband and emasculates him by becoming the breadwinner. It is a woman’s place to be a home, nurturing, not in an office while their children could be exposed to DEMONS!

Godly Clothing

Lovely Noemy Ingram, soon to be Mrs Quigg, and the ever so compassionate Josiah Longoria modelled for me

How we present ourselves is highly important. We represent the LORD to those we attempt to save by his GRACE and especially us girls should be modest so our brothers in the LORD never stumble. It is key that we should be reminded as it can become addictive to dress in the scandalous clothes our fathers and husbands allow us to wear at home. Perhaps Beulah Banks might also need a reminder after her summer wear.

Pregnancies and Births

We have recently seen the cumulation of a long-expected yet suspiciously short courtship by Immanuel and Charity Medley. While I wish not to cast doubt on why they married as Immanuel has always been one to rush through the great events of life, their pregnancy announcement so soon after a wedding does strike me as slightly odd. 

Josephine Medley has given birth to her fourth child recently, yet she has not yet released the gender or name to our community. They choose to attend our close associate Henry Lyle’s Homechurch so we’ll know when and if they post. Another Medley wife, despite the tragic loss in the family, is proud to announce she’s given birth to twins: Deborah and Mariana Medley. They’ve been keeping clear of our church considering it is taking Abigail more time to recover from the birth as well as the grief of losing a sibling.

Political Careers

Speaking of Henry Lyle, despite his dyke daughter has announced he’ll be running as governor of Newcrest in order to unseat the current FILTHY, PAGAN, CATHOLIC governor. I hope that our community can be supportive of the cause of good, CHRISTIAN government.

Senator Wolf is continuing his fight in restricting the MURDER of BABIES which our SECULAR government believes is a right of women. In the same way we do to Mr Lyle, I hope our community can extend support to him.

A Death

Mr Weston and his wife are sad to announce the death of their son, Adrian. He was a great servant to the LORD. Sadly, he has also left behind his fiancee, Delia Cannon. Our community sends great condolences to the family who have decided to take this opportunity to mourn in private

[stonesparrow]

For the dr.stone x atla crossover I feel that even if Hyoga is or was a soldier in the fire army he wouldn’t have liked the idea of a nations worth of centuries of knowledge pasted down through generations being wiped of the face of the earth.

I just had a thought Hyoga could be a soldier in the fire army but he could also be a master instructor at his own dojo he inherited from his master kinda like master Piandao. He’s still a fire bender though.

Also I think I would be a cute and funny plot twist if he has a daughter who is still young but old enough to help fight and strong enough to thanks her dad training her. I think he’d be the same tough and cold character he is but he’s surprisingly tender, caring, gental, and kind to her in his own way that would just make the characters in the dr.stone universe jaws hit the floor lol.

Ah, you do have a point with Hyoga likely being disappointed that the knowledge of airbending was lost to genocide - all those ancient techniques would probably be really fascinating to him as a martial artist. Though I can also see him buying into the Fire Nation’s imperialist message of “we are the strongest nation, so we should rule over all the weaker nations.”

I like your idea that Hyoga is a fighting instructor, with his values he’d probably be something like Zuko in skillset - he puts a lot of effort into firebending, but also into spearfighting since he deeply respects the nonbender master who taught it to him. At the same time he has no time for people who either don’t take it seriously or are too weak to make a difference.

(More under the cut because this got long)

Him having a kid is an interesting plot twist and while it’s more twisty than I’d expect, I’m kind of intrigued by the potential it has. Though that also brings up the question of who the kid’s mom is, and when the kid was born (I estimate Hyoga’s age in DCST to be around 20-22). Homura maybe? Like...perhaps Hyoga and Homura were both fairly high class and had an arranged marriage, but while Homura fell in love with him as they grew up together Hyoga only respected her as a friend and fellow fighter.

And then if they had a daughter (maybe pressured by both their parents to produce an heir of some sort) it could make them both more complex characters. If the kid was really strong though I’d lean more towards an Ozai-Azula like dynamic with Hyoga impressing his values of “only the strong and skilled deserve to live,” onto her. Plus if we’re keeping relative canon ages then I’d estimate Homura to be 20, Hyoga to be 22, and their daughter to be 2 by the time Team Avatar shows up in the Fire Nation to do their thing.

However...I can see some potential with the kid turning out physically weak, and that throwing Hyoga’s values into wack.

Let’s say the toddler was born healthy and strong and an assessment by some Fire Sages said that she’d become an extremely powerful bender - this pleases Hyoga, since he can’t imagine having fathered a weak child with him and Homura’s combined firebending ability. And indeed, by the time the kid is two she shows signs of firebending power well beyond her age group, with Hyoga planning to train her into an extraordinarily strong warrior.

Except with such a strong fire at such a young age, the little girl suddenly falls terribly ill, having raging fevers and struggling to breathe. Hyoga’s ideals would tell him that such an ill child will die, and that’s that, the weak and ill perish while the strong survive. But he finds himself insisting that the kid will survive, because she’s strong, she has to survive. She’ll recover and become the strongest firebender this side of the Nation, not die a weakling.

Some time later, the Gaang shows up to Hyoga’s town to resupply. Pre-Zuko joining but maybe somewhere between meeting Piandao and encountering Combustion Man? Aang decides to visit the local firebending dojo (rip Sokka’s nerves) because hey, he wants to see some firebending techniques from actual benders, and he can tooooootally handle staying low key this time, honest! He encounters Hyoga and gets a fair bit intimidated by him, though Hyoga seems to approve of “Kuzon’s” highly adaptive martial arts style.

At some point, a messenger comes and Hyoga slips away. Being nosy, Aang follows them and catches enough of the conversation to determine that there’s a sick kid living in that fancy mansion, and relays his concerns to the Gaang. Katara immediately wants to investigate further - Sokka is again very stressed but understands that he can’t stop his sister once she’s made a decision (plus this is post Painted Lady and Katara is even more determined not to let children suffer if she can do anything about it). But when she tries the front entrance, the guards won’t let her in, even when she says she’s a healer. In fact, they deny that there’s a sick child at all, while Aang insists he didn’t hear wrong.

So Aang and Katara, ever the problem solvers, break into the mansion (airbending is super useful!) and find the kid’s bedroom. Katara assesses the patient - she determines that even with her waterbending, the kid will likely suffer from complications her whole life due to the damage she’s already sustained. Hyoga suddenly appears, asking them how they got into his house (he’s actually very curious, since they seemed to enter silently and without alerting anyone). When Katara excuses herself and says she’s a healer from the colonies (Aang’s explanation for how Katara has “special healing techniques unlike any other”) and just wanted to help, Hyoga says that he doesn’t need a healer, and that the girl will recover soon. Katara starts to argue and Hyoga starts insinuating that he could easily beat her in combat, when Homura shows up, pleading with Katara to save her daughter.

Hyoga and Homura start arguing, with Homura saying this may be their last chance and Hyoga saying that a true daughter of his would be able to fight off the sickness alone. Homura eventually asks if he’d rather have a dead daughter than a weak one, which makes him go quiet (Aang and Katara are standing there awkwardly watching all of this). Hyoga then calmly says that since they seem to be at a standstill, the reasonable course of action is an Agni Kai (Aang goes pale at this, while Katara doesn’t actually know what that is).

In the courtyard the Gaang watches anxiously as Hyoga and Homura begin their duel, which results in quite a few impressive displays of firebending. Homura however seems to be holding back slightly, more on the run than attacking. At one point Homura gets thrown on her back and nearly burnt, but Katara calls out to her, saying she has to win for the kid. She gets back up and starts attacking Hyoga with renewed resolve, and even Hyoga is surprised.

Hyoga realizes that as loyal as Homura is to him, she really is doing her best to win, even coming at him with direct shots of flame now. And since this is still Hyoga, he respects that deeply - she’s doing things “properly,” even though she doesn’t want to. He even respects that Katara was so dedicated to her role as a healer that she broke into his house just on the mere mention that there was a sick child there.

And in the very bottom of his heart, despite all the talk of strength and weakness and who deserves to live, he has a hard time realizing that he doesn’t want his daughter to die, even if it means she’ll be weak and reliant on others her whole life. This might be a little OOC for canon Hyoga, but hey, it’s an au and maybe if canon Hyoga did have something small and weak to protect, he’d be less of an ass to Senku and company.

So at a key moment in the battle, Hyoga pauses for a split second instead of dodging a blast from Homura and allows himself to be grazed on the chin, reminiscent of his revival scars in canon. It’s not a bad burn, and those watching closely realize that he let her win. Hyoga turns to leave, only saying that Katara will be compensated for her healing services and that they truly did things “properly.”

Katara heals the girl, saying that the fever is gone but her lungs are damaged and she’ll have breathing problems from now on. She’s paid a small sack of gold by a servant that she initially refuses, but takes in the end since it’d probably be good to have extra Fire Nation currency on hand. The Gaang leaves the mansion feeling...a little conflicted about the experience, honestly.

Meanwhile as Homura sits by the girl’s bedside Hyoga appears in the doorway, having treated his burn from the duel. An awkwardly long silence passes before Hyoga says he’s been thinking about the skills that "Kuzon” and “Sapphire” displayed, and that he’s considering buying a home in the colonies so he can learn about those types of skills (since Aang claimed they were from the colonies). He turns to leave, but not before offhandedly saying that the seaside air in the colonies he’s looked at might be good for their daughter’s lungs.

[peralta-guaranteed]

Hcs of jake and amy going out and pretending to be Johnny and Dora?

I love the ideas this is giving me!

- so first time they do that (kind of accidentally undercover...) will follow as a nsfw-fic :D

- after that it becomes a thing they do once in a while when they really need a change of pace / need to get out of their own head (from stressful work weeks for example) and it's half thrilling and half funny to them, there's a lot of giggling involved. Just an evening of meeting up at random new places they've never been to, giving their false names and playing pretend while flirting heavily, talking about ANYTHING but the work they want to forget for the evening. It's basically a mental reset for both of them.

- they make up this entire lifestory for Johnny and Dora at some point, especially Amy who takes it very seriously and amuses Jake with it ("Ames is it really that important-" "it just doesn't work with the timeline! they got engaged so much earlier than us, and they didn't have the time-stealing obstacles we had! they'd be much further along in their relationship-" "yeah they might actually be divorced already" "JAKE YOU ARE NOT HELPING THIS ROMANTIC EVENING IDEA")

- J+D need to take a break after J+A have Mac, because there's really barely enough time to scrape together for normal date nights so when they get the time, they'd rather spend it together as actual Jake+Amy (while still flirting heavily of course)

- but after Maya comes along and they've had a frankly horrible two weeks with a sick newborn and then a sick toddler and then a horrible case at work and overall, things are just really. the worst. Amy comes home one evening after an extra long shift again to find the apartment empty and a fancy little embossed letter from 'Johnny' inviting his 'Dora' out for an anniversary dinner with a gps place for her to find

- she checks her calendar and realises it is actually the anniversary of that fake-engagement that... started them, in a way. Which frankly she's surprised Jake remembers, considering how bad he is with dates, but he's definitely never going to forget the exact time and date of when he first kissed the most perfect woman in the world to him, so...

- she finds it even sweeter when that special anniversary dinner involves all sorts of callbacks and hints to the backstory she made up for J+D (back at the restaurant where they celebrated the 'engagement', with the same tiramisu to share for dessert, 'Johnny <3 Dora' written on the plate with chocolate sauce, talking about all the little things she's mentioned she can imagine happening to them in their marriage) which means that as much as he laughed about it all the time, Jake actually commited it all to memory as well

- they end up strolling through THE park after dinner as well, unintentionally switching between J+D and J+A in their chatter. When they reach THE tree Amy can't help but push Jake against it with a kiss again.

- "You know what I love most about Johnny and Dora?" "That they've got a good credit score and responsible savings for their retirement already planned?" "... okay, that too. But I was going to say that in either case, no matter what personalities we play, I still get to marry you and keep you forever."

- ("well unless I was right and they're already divor-" "JAKE FOR FUCK'S SAKE DON'T RUIN THE MOMENT")

[avengerscompound]

Until the End of the World - 3

Until the End of the World: A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers x F!Reader

Word Count:  1725

Rating:  E

Warnings: Talk of pregnancy

Synopsis: Four years after Steve and Bucky got to the bottom of the HYDRA conspiracy that had led to you and your son being hunted for the first three years of his life, you, Bucky, and Steve have carved out a nice life together.  Things are calm and you feel like a family unit.  When Geo starts calling Bucky and Steve ‘dad’, a decision is made to try and add to your family.

Things aren’t as calm as they seem.  When your pregnancy hits the papers, HYDRA rears its head once again, and Steve and Bucky need to track you down to protect the family they had created.

Chapter 3

You were thoroughly exhausted by the time you, Bucky, and Steve dragged the suitcases inside your apartment.  The trip to Florida had wiped you out with all the traveling and theme parks and eating out every night, but it had been worth it.  The three of you needed time away from the Avengers just to practice being a regular family.

There was no way you had imagined it would have worked as well as it did.  With Geo calling Steve and Bucky ‘dad’ and plans for adding more kids, things had gone from being four people sharing their lives, to four members of the same family.

It was exciting thinking about what was to come.  It had been a long time since you and Geo had stopped running and settled down in a life with Bucky and Steve and when you looked back on those days it often seemed like a bad dream that had happened to some completely different person.  Not that it hadn’t left some pretty permanent scars.  You were still constantly checking over your shoulder for danger.  You would completely panic if you were out with Geo and he went out of your line of vision, even for a second.  You had separation anxiety (something that Geo shared) and there were times when you’d just feel generally uneasy like you did when you thought it was time to run.

Generally, things were fine.  You didn’t have a go-bag packed.  Geo had a school and friends.  You had gone back to school and you were working.  You were in love and you felt safe and normal in what was maybe not the most normal of situations, but in a lot of ways was so much better.  Because if the choice was happy or normal, happy would always win.

The thought of expanding the family with Bucky and Steve was exciting.  You loved them and couldn’t pretend that the thought of a bigger family wasn’t something you daydreamed about.  Even back with your first marriage, the idea of a few kids was something you’d toyed with.  They were so good with Geo and they had so much love to give other people.  Plus they seemed to need the piece of normal that you and Geo could provide for them.  It kept them grounded in a reality that wasn’t just saving the world and risking their lives.

So as exhausted as you were when you flopped down on the couch in your apartment, you were also excited.  Excited about the future and all the good things it was going to bring.

“I know we all really want something home-cooked,” Steve said as he flopped down beside you.  “But I think we should order in.”

“No arguments from me!”  Bucky called as he grabbed the bags and headed to the laundry.

Steve pulled out his phone and began to search for something to eat while Geo sat down and began to play on his tablet when there was a knock at the door.

“Who is it, FRIDAY?”  Steve asked.

“Mister Stark and Ms. Potts are here with Morgan,” FRIDAY said.

Steve chuckled and shook his head.  “Let them in.”

The door clicked open and the Stark family came inside, two-and-a-half-year-old Morgan immediately peeling away from her parents and toddling over to Geo.  “Welcome home!”  Tony said as Steve got to his feet.  “I hope you enjoyed your vacation.  Because it was the last one you ever have.”

“Not even going to let us take a breath?”  Steve teased.  “Any of you want a drink?”

“Yes, pwease,” Morgan said, looking up from the pile of toys Geo was pulling out from his bag to show her.

“What nice manners,” Steve joked.  “Not like daddy at all, huh?  What would you like, honey?”

“Juice, pwease,” she said.

“I’ll have tea if that’s okay,” Pepper added.

Tony followed Steve into the kitchen while Pepper came and sat down next to you.  “Sorry about the intrusion.  Tony’s been tearing his hair out the past two days and Morgan’s been asking when Geo gets home.”

“It’s fine,” you said, waving her off.  “It’s nice to feel needed.”

“So how was it?  Should we be buying Mickey ears for Morgan and heading south?”  Pepper asked.

“Yeah, really good,” you said, a contented smile spreading over your face.

“Oh, that sounds way more significant than getting your photo with Belle,” Pepper said, looking you over.  “What happened?”

“Geo, how about you go play with those in your room.  You can show her the lightsabers you built,” you said.

“Yeah,” Geo said, jumping up.  “Come on Morgan.”

The toddler was on her feet immediately chasing after the boys she idolized as he dragged his bag of treasures into his room.

“Go on, spill it,” Pepper said when they were safely out of earshot.

“Well,” you said quietly.  “For starters, Geo started calling them both ‘dad’.”

Pepper’s eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open.  “Wow, that is big.  How are they taking that?”

You went to say more but Bucky came in and looked around perplexed.  “Where is everyone?”  He asked.

“Steve and Tony are in the kitchen and Geo is showing Morgan his Disney haul in his room,” you explained.

Bucky came down and sat beside you, snaking his arm around your waist and pulling you a little closer.  “So what’s that face for?”  He asked, gesturing to Pepper.

Pepper started laughing.   “She just told me that Geo started calling you and Steve ‘dad’.”

“Oh, yeah,” Bucky grinned.  “Pretty great, huh?”

“How do you feel about that?”  Pepper asked.

“Good,” Bucky said with a nod.  “Really good.  It was a little dramatic at first because it just slipped out and he thought he was going to get in trouble or something.  But I talked him down, and now it’s just what he calls us, and I love it.”

“How about, Steve?”  Pepper asked.

“He loves it too,” you answered.  “I get the feeling no one brought it up before because no one wanted to pressure each other into calling them that.  But it’s not Steve and Bucky haven’t been his dad for years now.”

“Of course,” Pepper nodded.  “He probably barely even remembers a time they weren’t there.”

“Exactly,” you said.  “And I can’t pretend that I don’t wish he had known his biological dad.  But that’s not the world he was born into.  But thanks to these guys -” you nudged Bucky.  “He’s safe and he has two dads who love him very much.”

“Yeah, he does,” Bucky agreed, giving you a soft squeeze around the waist.

“You said ‘for starters’,” Pepper said, looking back at you.  “What else?”

You looked at Bucky.  “Is it okay if I tell her?”

He raised an eyebrow at you.  “I dunno, I guess.  Is it really something you tell?”

“Not everyone,” you agreed.  “But you can tell some people.  Can’t just keep stuff bottled up.”

“What?”  Pepper said, sitting forward in her chair.  “What’s going on?  You can’t just not tell me now.”

“We’re going to start trying to have a baby,” you said.

If Pepper had looked surprised before, she looked nothing but completely dumbfounded now.  Her eyes were wide and her mouth slowly opened and then closed again.  “Wow.  Wow… that’s huge,” she said.  “Oh my god!  Tony is going to be so excited when he finds out.  Expect to be flooded with gifts and unwanted advice when it actually happens.  He is the expert in parenting now.”

You and Bucky laughed.  “Well, it hasn’t happened yet.  I’ve got an IUD in, so I’m going to need to make an appointment to get that out for starters.”

“That’s amazing,” she said.  “I’m so happy for you all.  It sounds like this trip was exactly what you needed.”  She paused for a moment and fidgeted in her seat. “Can I ask a question that might seem a little … invasive?”

You shrugged.  “Sure.  If you can't, who can?”

She laughed and shook her head.  “Well, I do appreciate that,” she said.  “Do you know how you’re going to do it?  I mean… biologically speaking?”

You looked at Bucky and furrowed your brow.  The truth was, none of you had spoken about that.   It was in the list of ‘fine details to work out later’.  You didn’t care how it happened.  You were going to be the baby’s biological mother no matter what, and even if the three of you decided to go a completely different route and adopt, they’d already proven that they didn’t need biology at all to love a child.  You hoped they didn’t get territorial now that you were trying for one together.

“I mean we haven’t…” you started.

“We definitely still need to iron some things out,” Bucky added.  “But I know I don’t really mind.  I figure we just see what happens.”

“You don’t care if you’re not the biological dad?”  You asked.

Bucky smiled and shook his head.  “It’ll be mine no matter what.”

You smiled as you looked into the cool gray of his eyes.  Bucky tended to wear his pain constantly.  Even when he was otherwise happy you could see that pain reflected in his eyes.  Right now though, there was none.  His eyes glimmered with the hope of things to come and what looked like real, deep down to his core, happiness.  “I love you,” you whispered and brought your lips to his.  He smiled against your lips as he returned the kiss deeply, his hand going to your cheek and cradling it.

There was the course sound of someone clearing their throat and you looked up to see Tony and Steve in the doorway that led to the kitchen.  “Are you two just going to invite us around here and make out in front of my wife?”  Tony teased.

“I don’t actually remember inviting you around,” you shot back.

Tony laughed loudly and clapped Steve on the shoulder.  “Well, I know when I’m not wanted.”

“No, stay,” you said.  “We’re going to order food.  Let Morgan play with Geo for a bit longer.”

Tony chuckled and took a seat next to Pepper.  “Only if the two of you promise to keep your tongues to yourselves.”

You shrugged.  “I absolutely cannot promise that,” you said, causing Tony to break down into peals of laughter yet again.

// NEXT

[starlit-dreaming]

[WMMAP] Lucathy Ideas (1/?)

//tfw you realize that your ship actually has a fandom tag on ao3 and a ship tag on tumblr

[1] | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

so i plan on making a bunch of lucathy fics based off on all of these ideas of mine, but idk when i’ll be finished with them and i just really want to ramble about lucathy ok ddfiuouyitfghiudk

Lucas Knows All -- Canon Divergence AU

• Basically, Athanasia talks to Lucas on if it was possible to travel through dimensions via magic after several months since they first met (thus, resulting in Athanasia admitting that she’s died once before and Lucas learning about <The Lovely Princess> story -- he cringes at the cheesy storyline and plot and thinks that it’s pretty stupid how LP Athy died and was selfless towards LP Jennette)

• Maybe with the knowledge that the trigger for Athanasia’s potential death begins with her debutante when Jennette is introduced to Claude, he might head off to the World Tree months before her birthday (and returns in time for her birthday)

Debutante Debut -- Fake Dating AU...?

• Really self-indulgent, but I really want Lucas to show up at the debutante ball and be the one to dance with Athanasia, which Claude allows him to attend because Claude thinks “ah, yes, another helper in repelling insects away from Athanasia”

• The way I see it, I imagine that in Claude’s eyes, Lucas is most likely the only guy who is worthy to stand by Athanasia’s side as a potential partner, especially because he saved her life. Claude will glare at Lucas, but Lucas would nudge his head towards Ezekiel’s direction, which more or less communicates the question of “who would you rather dance with Athy? Me or Him?”

• This doesn’t mean that Claude is happy with Lucas, but hey, maybe this will help repel guys from trying to make a move on his adorable daughter.

• When Athanasia hosts her first tea party with all the noble young ladies, she more or less admits that she’s surprised that Lucas showed up and mentions that he “promised her a dance” (in order to get her away from Ezekiel), it ends up fueling everyone’s imagination. Everyone thinks that Lucas and Athanasia are courting each other, and Lucas showing up in the middle of the tea party at one point doesn’t really help either. All the girls ship it.

• Claude talks to her about the rumors, to which she admits “no, there’s nothing between us” and “it’s just everyone’s imaginations running wild” and she more or less admits that she doesn’t mind letting the rumors continuing on because that means that she won’t have to deal with rejecting courtship offers/marriage proposals.

5 Attempts + 1 Successful Kidnapping -- 5+1 Prompt

• Okay so in canon we know that the only real danger Athanasia’s in is the whole “Claude might kill me”. But what if there were kidnapping attempts from outsiders who want leverage over Claude or for other nonsensical reasons? What if her life actually had more complications than her relation to Claude?

• Age 3, Athanasia’s a toddler, but her kidnappers are sloppy and they didn’t expect for toddler Athanasia to wholeheartedly charm all the maids in the ruby palace. They thought it’d be an easy kidnapping, but instead they get a toddler Athy screeching into their ears, alerting the maids of the kidnapper’s whereabouts, she gets dropped because of the screech, and she promptly punches their groin before zooming off. The maids knock the kidnappers out with the decorative displays.

• Age 5, where the kidnappers pose as foreign dignitaries from Arlanta and wanted to incite a war between Arlanta and Obelia. Athanasia never finds out about it until she’s older when she denies ever being in any real danger and someone comments that she was almost kidnapped to start a war. Felix handled it.

• Age 5-6? It happens during the two months where Athanasia was unconscious. They didn’t expect Claude to stay at her side for almost 24/7. She never found out about the attempted kidnapping.

• Age 9, Lucas caught and quickly subdued a magician who attempted to kidnap Athanasia because he went crazy from experimenting black magic on children, and got this idea stuck in his head that the failures was because they didn’t have enough magic potential, so the target was naturally Athanasia.

• Age 12, the fifth (third, to Athanasia’s knowledge) attempt was the worst out of them all. It was one of Athanasia’s tutors, a noblewoman who craved for Claude’s love and had her family send him various marriage offers to him on her behalf. When she realized that Athanasia was his precious daughter, she tried to get into her good graces. Claude thought hiring her as Athanasia’s tutor would stop the marriage requests (it didn’t), and Lucas didn’t like her, but he thought she harbored no ill intent (he was wrong). She decided to take drastic measures on a day when Claude and Felix were dealing with foreign dignitaries, thinking that if she used Athanasia, maybe Claude would finally accept her marriage proposal. She added sleeping powder to the tea to make Athanasia fall asleep (except she woke up during the kidnapping because the magic in her body more or less got the sleeping powder out of her system pretty quickly) . A magician teleported into the palace and brought her out, however Claude and Lucas immediately noticed the disappearance of Athanasia’s magic within the castle walls. Lucas located her and dealt with the situation while Claude handled her former tutor.

• Okay so technically this is more for fluff than angst. The next time she gets “kidnapped,” she’s 17 and its because Lucas thinks that she’s been cooped up in her studies all day and decides to take her out of the castle for a surprise date.

[1] | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

that’s all the ideas i’ve got so far, but i already know i’m gonna come up with more in the future syudiruk

[hiding-bliss]

Emotions - Sims 4 Challenge

This challenge is a whimsy challenge. Filled with chaos, excitement, and emotions, you will never be bored. Basically. (Idk, don't quote me on that)

RULES:

1. No mods that could effect your performance of the challenge 2. CC and MCC are aloud 3. The only way to lose the challenge is your gen dying without completing the qualifications 4. No bringing Sims back to life in any way 5. Life span must be on normal unless gen rules say otherwise 6. This challenge uses all packs, if you do not have the ability to complete a gen because of your lack of packs, you have my permission to override it ;) 7. HAVE FUN. now.

NOTE

For the child aspirations, you do not have to complete them!!

GEN 1 - Happiness

You were born into this world with no care in the world, and are a little naïve. You grew up with positive, loving parents, and feel that positivity is something everybody needs. You're the type of person who walks around feeling bubbly and pumped all the time. All you want to do in life is spread your joy, and bring everyone you can with you.

Complete Aspiration: Big happy family Aspiration as a child (do not have to complete): Social Butterfly

Your sim has the traits: Cheerful, Childish, Family Oriented

Trait as a toddler: Silly

Max out the career of: Education

Max out the skills of: Parenting and Charisma

- Have three toddlers at the same time (if you need to temporarily move your sims lifespan to long for this, you can) - Have next gen kids visit every Saturday - Read your child to sleep every night - The only way to have fun is watching kids TV or playing with kids toys - In retirement have this gen have 4 pets. Two cats, two dogs. (they can be un-played)

GEN 2 - Sadness

You had the best childhood anyone could ever ask for, but always seemed to be down, and overall negative. You like a lot of things, but have never really loved anything. You don't really know what you want to do in life, and even though being raised in a house where you always have a plan, you have none, and that's the way you like it. All you know is that you're an emotional, creative, mess.

Complete the Aspiration: Bestselling author Aspiration as a child: Artistic Prodigy

Have the traits: Gloomy, Clumsy, Loner Trait as a toddler: Independent

Max out the career: Writer

Max out the skills: Writing and an instrument of your choice

- Have at least two failed relationships           - Have the first relationship fail because they cheated on you           - Have the second fail because you cheated on them - Have main next gen from random hookup - Have four children overall - Get into at least 3 fights with your spouse in your lifetime - Write in journal everyday as a kid - Age up with uncontrolled emotions

GEN 3 - Disgust

You grew up with a parent who was afraid to voice her opinions, and a father who made your life extremely easy. In result of this, you live your life comforted by money, being posh, and insensitive. All you did as a kid was argue until you got your way. But then as a young adult you're dumped in the city with zero simoleons, and all you want is your old life back.

Complete the Aspiration: Fabulously Wealthy Aspiration as a child: Social Butterfly

Have the traits: Self-Assured, Ambitious, Snob Trait as a toddler: Charmer

Max out the career: Law

Max out the skills: Gourmet Cooking and Violin

- Move to San Myshuno with zero simoleons as a young adult - Have all A's as a child - Age up with good manners - Age up with insensitive trait - Don't get married until career maxed out - Only have one child - Become best friends with the grim reaper - Make a club where you argue every week

GEN 4 - Fear

You grew up with a parent who was a little rough around the edges, and tried to get you into the lavish lifestyle, but you just weren't for it. You don't like to argue with people, and want to keep the peace. You're the type of person who's scared of what's around the corner, whether it's violence, or other people. You never voice your emotions, save for when you're painting.

Complete the Aspiration: Painter Extraordinaire Aspiration as a child: Artistic Prodigy

Have the traits: Creative, Squeamish, Paranoid Trait as a toddler: Angelic

Max out the career: Painter

Max out the skills: Painting and Wellness

- Never break up with anyone (to end a relationship, kill them or make them break up with you) - Leave someone at the altar as a young adult - Age up with the mediator trait - Age up with the polite trait - Have one argument with your best friend - Paint a painting in the mood of previous gens (as close as you can get) - Get married to two people (have the first marriage divorce you) - Live in a tiny house for all of young adult life (mid tier)

GEN 5 - Surprise

You grew up with a simple, loving lifestyle, and all throughout your childhood you were just kind of... bored. The only thing you ever enjoyed was food. You don't like the idea of settling down, all you want to do is explore the city, and lead a pointless, reckless, life.

Complete the Aspiration: City Native Aspiration as a child: Rambunctious Scamp

Have the traits: Non-committal, Foodie, Adventurous  Trait as a toddler: Wild

Max out the career: Food critic

Max out the skills: Cooking, Dancing, Mixology

Get to level 5 of: Bowling and Singing

- Go half way into the food critic career before owning your own restaurant - Sell restaurant once adult - Go back to level 5 of food critic as adult (you may use cheats for this) - Have one boy and one girl (you may use cheats for this) - Cook dinner for your family every night - Age up with no bonus traits - Get married as an elder - Live in every district of the city - Have six cats

GEN 6 - Pride

Your mother always taught you to have fun and be confident... but eventually you became a little lazy and too confident. You know this, but don't know how to fix it. You decide to lose all the fun, go to university, and be a doctor. Maybe you'll lose your arrogance if you're good at something?

Complete the Aspiration: Academic Aspiration as a child: Rambunctious Scamp

Have the traits: Goofball, Lazy, Ambitious, and Self-Absorbed Trait as a toddler: Independent

Max out the career: Doctor

Max out the skills: Knitting and Robotics

- Have D's as a kid - Go to park every other day as child - Host at least three parties at your home as a teen - Go to Uni for biology - Go into florist career as an elder - Have the lazy trait has a teen, trade it out for ambitious as a young adult - Max out knitting as an adult/elder - Drink milk every day

GEN 7 - Shame

At school, kids would always tease you for your mom being rude and rich. In your childhood, the only happiness you found was with video games. You were always ashamed of yourself, and the way you lived, and could never find good people that didn't judge you. Once you move out, all you're looking for is someone who can finally understand you, and to lead a simple life in the country where you can play games to your hearts content.

Complete the Aspiration: Soulmate Aspiration as a child: Whiz Kid

Have the traits: Genius, Geek, and Lazy Trait as a toddler: Clingy

Max out the career: E-Sports Competitor

Max out the skills: Media production, Programming, and Video Gaming

- Live in Brindleton Bay from young adult to elder - Age up with polite trait - Age up with emotional control trait - Play games after school everyday - Never have any friends until young adult - Meet all your friends online (from work) - Only ever have one relationship (the one you die with) - Get cancelled for having your spouse cheat on you (story flipped)

GEN 8 - Embarrassment

As a child, your parents were always loving and "with the kids". Your life is everything you've dreamed of until your mom gets cancelled and your parents split. Once they've split and you've moved to a whole new world, you bury yourself in music and books. But in the end, all you want in life is to move on, and pretend like you're something you're not.

Complete the Aspiration: Master Actor/Actress Aspiration as a kid: Social Butterfly

Have the traits: Outgoing, Music Lover, Bookworm Trait as a toddler: Clingy

Max out the career: Actor/Actress

Max out the skills: Acting, all toddler skills, and get to level 8 of 3 skills of your choice

- Age up with the responsible trait - Have three different part time jobs - Have a part time job while in the actor career (tiers 1-3) - Never be broken up with - Have three children - Have all your children enrolled in drama club - Never pass level 3 in parenting - Say something to someone from a different category every day - Have your number leaked (you may use cheats) - Move to a new world as a child/teen

GEN 9 - Excitement

Your mother was always embarrassed due to her past, and in so never really talked to anyone. You've grown up in the spotlight and find it exciting, but don't think you want to be in it forever. Your life was always fun and exciting, and once you move out that's all you want, light-heartedness and fun. You’re a messy, private, jokester.

Complete the Aspiration: Joke Star Aspiration as a child: Rambunctious Scamp

Have the traits: Goofball, Slob, Un-flirty

Trait as a toddler: Charmer

Max out the Career/Branch: Entertainer/Comedy

Max out the skills: Comedy and Mischief

- Spontaneously adopt a child (next heir) - Never get married - Never have a fight - Never move - Have a party every week - In your final house, have a full-on stage to practice comedy - Age up with the in-polite trait - Witness three deaths (you may use cheats, or make them your own)

GEN 10 - Anger

Your parents always tried to make you laugh as a kid, but every hint of laughter just made you more angry. You're naturally angry, and don't care. All you care about is your career, and not how other people see you. You're a little emotional and stubborn, but who isn't?

Complete the Aspiration: Public Enemy Aspiration as a child: Whiz Kid

Have the traits: Hates Children, Evil, Ambitious Trait as a toddler: Fussy

Max out the career: Criminal

- Age up with 3 negative traits (parenthood) - Kill 5 sims from your work (you may do this in any way, whether through violence mods or MCC)  - Go to work for one day in Law Enforcement - Get in a fight at every place you go - Have six enemies - Each time you age up, invite someone over just to fight them (for toddler, child, you may just do a mean interaction)  - Don't have any kids - Die from someone poisoning you - Go to your local park every week to yell at kids

[wayward-riana]

The Lost Silhouette | Part One | Thomas Shelby

Summary: After Grace’s death, Tommy had closed his heart off but when he marries the new female detective of the Crime Investigation Department of Birmingham only for protection from the law, his cold exterior starts melting.

Thomas Shelby x reader

Warnings: Mentions of murder and violence. Brief mentions of sadness and depression.

A/N: Charlie is 1 and a half years old in this story. Grace died when he was just a couple of months old. The reader’s job in this is not entirely historically accurate. But I hope you enjoy.

________________________________

Dull blue eyes stare up at the ceiling as pink lips wrap around the white roll of paper. The air is heavy as it has been for the last eighteen months. There isn’t a hint of happiness in this dreadful residence. The only thing that keeps the house from seeming haunted is the rare laughs of the little toddler that Thomas’ lover had left him, before she was shot right in front of his steel blue eyes.

The blue eyes that used to shine so bright once. The blue eyes that used to light up. The blue eyes that dreamed so big. Now those same blue eyes have lost all their light. They hold no emotions. No happiness. No love. Only a little bit of affection for Charlie.

Tommy lost all his ambitions and the only reason why he keeps going on is for his beloved son, who he loves the most in this world. Everything Tommy does is only for the good of his dear son. So when he married Y/N, he told himself he wasn’t betraying Grace, he was doing it for Charlie and for his family. Charlie was only just a few months old and he needed a mother-figure in his life and to Tommy a nanny did not count as a mother-figure.

Y/N was a girl from a noble family, who had a pretty prestigious job. A job that no other woman seemed to have at the time. A detective. When she first met Tommy, she had just been transferred to Birmingham from London. Around that time, the Peaky Blinders were having a lot of issues with the law. The cops made their lives a living hell. He did what he thought was right, he went to Y/N’s superior and asked her hand in marriage. Y/N’s superior was the superintendent, Christopher Holden, who was transferred to Birmingham alongside her. He was a father-figure to her, as her father died in the great war.

Christopher was absolutely appalled by the idea. He wasn’t going to let someone like Tommy marry one of the best officers in the unit. He wasn’t her biological father, but he loved her like she were his own blood and flesh. So. Tommy made a deal that he’ll help them keep all the gangs in Birmingham on a leash if he got to marry Y/N. He knew if he married her, someone with such a big reputation in the police department, no one would be able to even lay a finger on his family and the rest of the Peaky Blinders.

Christopher agreed to the deal only if Y/N did.

Y/N is an independent woman with a job that she absolutely loves. She earns her own money and has saved up enough money that she could buy the city of Birmingham if she wanted to. She didn’t need a man. She was almost twenty-seven but unmarried, which was strange to everyone. She was beautiful, head-strong, classy, smart and rich. Everything a man would want yet she never married. The reasons were unknown.

But she never imagined herself to be in an arranged marriage. Especially, with someone who is always in trouble with the law. She would’ve never agreed to it if it weren’t for Christopher. He put out all the benefits this marriage would bring to the department but he never forced her. But she was smart enough, so she agreed to marry Thomas Shelby.

Tommy’s family was pretty skeptical about Tommy’s decision to marry a cop. But as Polly says, “Tommy knows best.” When he told everyone about the marriage, everyone was...somewhat cooperative.

“She’s a cop?” John scrunched his face in disapproval.

“Yes,” Arthur confirmed. “She’s too pretty for such a disgraceful job.”

Polly wasn’t sure of what Y/N was going to be like. She never approved of Grace but knew how much she meant to her nephew. She knew that Tommy had no liking or feelings towards the detective, but she still held out the hope that he would be happy one day.

Surprisingly, everyone adored Y/N. Her quick-wit, knowledge, and kindness managed to charm the Shelby’s. They were more than thrilled to welcome her into the family.

Tommy didn’t care about that at all. He never knew what she was like and he couldn’t care less. They only had exchanged a few words before they got married. They never even had a proper conversation. She didn’t care either, she was doing it for the good of the city. She only cared about that and Charlie, who she instantly fell in love with when she first met him. The little boy adored her as well, which was a huge relief to his father.

The wedding was a beautiful yet gloomy one. The wedding took place on the edge of a beautiful cliff. The guests were just the Peaky Blinders and some of Y/N’s closest friends.

The altar was decorated with all kinds of flowers. It was the only thing that made Y/N happy.

Tommy didn’t even kiss her on the lips. He just offered her a small peck on the cheek.

The feeling of his lips lingering on her cheek is a feeling that Y/N still remembers every time he walks into her bedroom with Charlie in his arms and a cigarette hanging from his lips. He always stands by the edge of her bed and briefly mentions some business that he needs her help with. He then lets Charlie kiss her goodnight, before he disappears back in his bedroom with the little boy. And that’s the only amount of interaction Y/N has with Tommy, everyday.

However, Y/N feels a little more courageous today. 

She smooths out her blazer, while looking in the mirror for the last time. The light of the early sun makes her navy blue pant-suit a little more bright than it is. Her hair shines underneath the rays of the sun. She walks out of her bedroom door with her suitcase in her hand. Instead of walking downstairs, she takes a turn and walks into her husband’s bedroom. Something, she never does. 

The open door of his bedroom is very unusual, so she peaks her head through the door and sees Tommy rummaging through his drawers, getting ready for work as well. She clears her throat to grab his attention. He turns his head slightly and catches a glimpse of the woman. He raises his eyebrows, expressing his surprise.

“Yeah?” He grumbles.

“Was heading to work, so I thought I’d say goodbye before I leave.” She explains. In the six months of their marriage, this has never happened before. 

Tommy eyes her up and down, taking in the sight. He has seen her in a suit maybe twice, because the only time he ever sees her is when they both get home from work and get settled in their home attires. 

“All right,” He nods at her. “G’bye” 

Y/N bites the inside of her cheek as she nods back at him. Before she heads out, she goes to kiss Charlie as she always does. 

On her way out of the home, a wave of sadness washes over her. She realises that her silly heart has fallen for her husband who she had no relationship with. Other than legal papers binding them together, they were not even acquaintances.

She had not fallen for anyone after she lost the only man she ever loved, to the war. James. Major James Voight was a gallant man who fought alongside Y/N’s father in the great war in France. She lost both of them. She never wanted to love again. She was too afraid to lose someone again.

Tommy didn’t know about this. He didn’t know that she lost her fiance to the war. He never knew how troubled she was, deep down inside. 

Now that she has fallen in love so foolishly, she tells her feelings to shut down like a machine. She has functioned herself to be a machine, to never feel again. But the machine she made, seems to not work anymore. The fear courses through her veins, because she knows...she knows that as her heart beats in her chest, it now only beats for Thomas Shelby.

______________________________

I hope you all enjoyed this. I’ll be writing a few more parts of this particular story. So, stay tuned for more. R, xxx.

[chilling-seavey]

Amoureux (c.s./d.s.) - Chapter Twenty-Three

A/N This song’s chapter is Water Fountain by Alec Benjamin <3

The rest of the day was spent with Louisa resting in her room, her body exhausted from the draining events of the last few days. She didn’t hear much movement and thankfully barely any speaking or yelling, the palace down to a steady silence. She drifted in and out of sleep most of the afternoon, the guilt and shame and sadness eating at her heart every time she woke. It was so much easier to just sleep through it all. She just wanted to wake up back at Versailles.

The King had never seen his eldest son so angry in all twenty and a half years of knowing him. They spent the entire afternoon in the office, the King sat behind his desk and Christian pacing the room, screaming and cursing at the top of his lungs until he finally exhausted himself and slumped into a chair to logically discuss where to go from there. His hurt was apparent as he had fallen head over heels for Louisa from the first moment, he laid eyes on her and his love had only grown tenfold since then. There was nothing Christian was more sure of in life than wanting to marry her; and having Daniel ruin that was the last straw. Christian had dealt with Daniel’s extroverted and attention seeking personality since his brother was a toddler, always finding a way to turn anything and everything onto himself. Christian couldn’t help but think that this was just another one of his stupid plots to get under his skin, taking something that wasn’t his; Louisa. It infuriated him.

What Christian didn’t know that Daniel was hurting just as badly, locked in his room with his spare keys confiscated as his room was searched before he was left in there with his own mind. He paced his floor for hours, mind reeling about how much he hurt Christian, how much he hurt Louisa, and how he was most likely awaiting his trial for his execution. For sixteen-year-old Daniel, it was the single most terrifying thing to ever happen to him and he was sure that he was having a mental breakdown. He always lived by the seam of his pants, acting first and thinking second; and after his argument with Louisa the morning of the wedding, he was ready to do anything to get her for himself, away from Christian who he figured wasn’t good for her. It made sense to himself, to stand up and confess his love to Louisa, to save her from this arranged marriage – perfect sense, but as soon as Christian walked out of the church, Daniel knew he messed up badly. He knew he deserved punishment, but he was dreading the idea of being hung by the hand of his brother. He didn’t want to die.

Louisa woke the next morning and it took all her effort to get out of bed. Mary helped her tidy herself up and dress, neither woman saying a word. What was there to say when the palace was falling to dust around them? Louisa planned to take the day to talk to Christian and resolve their obvious tension before finding Daniel to hear what the hell he was thinking and hopefully smooth things over and burn some bridges. It was going to be a draining day.

Louisa stepped out of her bedroom to find the grand staircase noisy and the foyer bustling with people. She walked down the stairs slowly, watching various butlers carrying trunks and chests into the waiting carriage under the controlling order of Jonah. Louisa stopped at the landing, her hand resting on the banister as she watched the men move the items quickly.

“Jonah.” she called, her voice rough from all her crying and he looked up towards her before excusing himself from the butlers and walked up to meet her at the landing.

“Your Royal Highness.” he bowed to her. “Good to see you awake.”

“Jonah, what is going on?” Louisa asked slowly, keeping her eyes narrowed in confusion towards the carriage through the open doors.

“Prince Christian and the King have come to the conclusion that Daniel will be leaving today.”

“Leaving?” Louisa turned to him quickly. “Leaving for how long?”

“The King chose to pardon the usual charge and punishment of treason and simply banish him from England to avoid anymore…situations.” Jonah explained.

Louisa couldn’t respond, her mouth fallen open in shock as she looked back to the trunks being loaded onto the carriage.

“He is still a child. Where are they sending him?”

“Either Spain or Denmark; whichever ship leaves earliest when they arrive to the port by tomorrow morning.” Jonah said. “I am sure Prince Christian will speak with you today, but the wedding has been postponed to the end of this week.”

“He still wants to marry me?” Louisa asked, turning back to Jonah.

“Yes, ma’am. He does intend on keeping the arrangement and marrying you by Saturday.”

Louisa couldn’t even smile at that relief of a statement as she glanced back to the carriage. She couldn’t believe Christian would just get rid of his brother so easily, that the King would get rid of his son that easily. She wondered if Christian would have actually sent Daniel to be executed if it was ultimately his decision.

“May I see Prince Daniel before he leaves?” Louisa asked before she could think it through.

Jonah hesitated, contemplating that question a moment, but he looked at her and nodded once, “I will have to be there as well, however, as he is legally a criminal and you are not permitted to be put in any possible danger.”

Louisa wanted to laugh in his face; Christian was more of a danger than Daniel.

She followed Jonah back up the stairs and to a door at the far end of the hallway. He pulled out a ring of keys and unlocked the door before leading her inside. Daniel was sat on his window sill in his near empty room, staring out at the courtyard where the carriage was being packed up with his things and biting his fingernail anxiously. At the sound of the door shutting again, he looked over, his eyes widening at the sight of Louisa and he breathed her name as he jumped to his feet to greet her. Jonah set a hand out to stop him before he could hug her and Daniel pouted lightly as he simply stared at her. He looked so much younger than she remembered, his hair sticking up in all directions and his blue eyes rimmed with red and cheeks flushed pink from crying, and he was dressed in only a white button up, trousers, and black boots, as if his wardrobe had been taken from him along with his citizenship.

“I’m sorry.” Daniel said softly. He glanced at Jonah and then back at Louisa.

She had prepared a whole speech to tell him how much he hurt her and how stupid he was but she seemed to forget it all in that moment. Louisa’s bottom lip trembled a moment and she looked to the ground to keep from crying.

“I will wait outside.” Jonah whispered to the two of them. “Do not make me regret this decision.”

They nodded thankfully to him and Daniel watched him leave and close the door, leaving it open only a crack. Daniel looked back to Louisa and took a step closer, hesitantly reaching out to lift her head to look at him.

“Why would you do this?” she cried softly. “Why’d you have to tell everyone like that?”

Daniel swallowed thickly, bowing his head in shame, “I know. I wasn’t thinking. I was upset from our argument and I did the worst thing to you and to Christian. It was so wrong of me. I’m sorry.”

He expected her to yell about her ruined relationship with Christian and how he deserved everything that came his way, but she took him by surprise with a gentle, “Now I will never see you again.”

Daniel bit back his tears, sick of crying so much the past days and exhausted from thinking she hated his guts, the relief shamefully blissful, and he engulfed her in a tight embrace. Louisa clung onto his shirt in her fists, burying her face in his neck and let herself cry.

“At least I won’t be hanged.” Daniel tried to joke but it only made her hold him tighter. He rubbed his hand over her back, closing his eyes tightly as if trying to forever remember the feeling of her in his arms. After a moment, they separated just enough to look at each other and Daniel wiped her tears from her cheeks with his thumbs.

“Christian moved the wedding to Saturday.” Louisa whispered.

“I know.” Daniel nodded, sliding his hands into hers between them.

Louisa sniffled and looked down to their entwined hands, stood just the same way as she and Christian were two days prior. She gave his hands a small squeeze.

“You’re going to look beautiful.” Daniel whispered. “My brother’s a lucky man.”

“And a little psychotic.” Louisa chuckled, turning back to look at his face.

Daniel didn’t even crack a smile as he shook his head tiredly, “No. He’s a good guy. He means well. He’s gonna treat you so good.”

Louisa nodded as she took a trembling breath, ignoring his sloppy grammar, her nose scrunching as she struggled not to cry.

“Come here.” Daniel sighed, stepping closer to slide a hand against her face and press a kiss to her other cheek, his other hand wrapping around her back and held her close.

She closed her eyes as they stood motionless for a moment, resting her head against his shoulder, arms snug around his waist. The palace was silent, so silent she could almost hear their heartbeats, feeling Daniel’s soft breath against her neck, his thumb rubbing soft patterns over her back.

“You don’t have to say it back,” Daniel whispered, after a while of silence, his words muffled with his hesitation to speak, “but I love you.”

Louisa sighed, letting the words linger in the air a moment. Even if she wanted to reply, she didn’t have the opportunity as the door opened quickly and they separated in record speed – something they were all too used to doing – and two Royal Guards came in with Jonah. Jonah pulled Louisa back and she stared with wide eyes as the two men turned Daniel around and tugged his hands behind his back aggressively, shoving him forward against the wooden post of his blue canopy bed. Daniel shut his eyes for a moment as they handcuffed him and he glanced over at Louisa as they tightened them, the sound of the rusted steel chains echoing off the walls of his elegant bedroom.

“It’s okay.” Daniel whispered to her, wincing as they tugged him back by a rough hand on the back of his shirt. “I’ll be okay. Be good to my brother.”

He couldn’t help the cheeky little wink as they pushed him out of the room and towards the stairs, Jonah and Louisa following as well. The rest of the family was already stood on the landing, Anna hiding behind her mother in slight fear as her brother was pushed past them in shackles, the Queen unable to even look at her son as she swallowed back her shame, and the King and Christian watching with straight lined expressions. Christian glanced to Louisa as she joined them and he grabbed her arm to pull her closer, almost as if to keep her as far away from Daniel as possible.

The younger brother looked over his shoulder to take one last look at his family as they reached the bottom of the stairs and he met Louisa’s frightened gaze before being tugged out the door by the guards. Christian’s grip on her arm tightened and she winced quietly, not bothering to speak her complaint. The family watched as Daniel was driven away, seeing the silhouette of his bowed head through the back window as the carriage disappeared through the palace gates.

[solastia]

Shadow Of You | 1

Pairing: Seokjin x Jungkook 

Summary: Alpha Seokjin is sixteen when his best friend’s baby brother is born. When he finally gets to visit and meet the new baby Jungkook, he’s dismayed to discover the infant is his true mate. Or: Seokjin and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Long Wait For His Mate. 

Word Count: 1,674

A/N: Surprise! Okay, I will say this before anything else, this is not going to be taboo. He’s going to wait for a long ass time for Jungkook to grow up like a good boy. And that means...lots and lots of angst ;) 

Kim Seokjin’s life was a blessed one. 

The Sixteen year old Alpha very much enjoyed the fact that his life was pretty fulfilling and going to plan.

He was doing well in school and was probably going to graduate number two in his whole class - only because Kim Namjoon was his friend and he was generous enough to let him be number one. He had three of the best friends anyone could have and they’d stuck with him since kindergarten. He was already on the waiting list for the same medical school that his own father had attended. And best of all, Choi Mina - the prettiest girl in their entire class - had agreed to go to the arcade with him this weekend.

Jin brought his overfilled tray to the large table that his group of friends had claimed as their own in the school cafeteria, the heathens circling his three pudding cups like vultures. Hoseok was nearly successful in grabbing one, but Jin managed to smack it out of his hands. He knew he wasn’t going to eat all three, but he liked to make them work for it before he finally gave one up.

Min Yoongi - his best friend in the entire world - was the only one that hadn’t tried to lunge for Jin’s tray (mostly because the cafeteria lady was fond of him and always snuck him an extra of his own). Instead, he kept showing off pictures of his new baby brother to the fascinated Namjoon. 

“So when are we allowed to come back over to your house, Yoongi? You have the best entertainment system out of us all,” Hoseok asked, munching on a stolen French fry that Jin had pretended not to see him take.

Yoongi shrugs. “Whenever. Ma says it’s cool now as long as we wash our hands before touching the baby.”

“So, we can come over after school? You can finally show me the fancy camera your dad got you. Naturally, I expect to be your first model,” Seokjin grins.

Yoongi nods and slides his own extra pudding cup towards Namjoon. While blushing? Interesting. Jin files this information to tease Yoongi about later. 

“Sadly for you, Jungkookie has that title. But yeah, I’ll send Ma a message and she’ll buy us a pizza or something. She’ll be excited to show him off. She loves that he’s a cute little omega and she’s no longer outnumbered.”

Everyone spends the rest of the school day excited and anxious for it to be over. Yoongi’s house was the best one to hang out in since his mom was super chill and always made them lots of food. 

Seokjin personally thought of the Min household as a sort of sanctuary. He did have a pretty great life, but he’d admit his parents could be pretty harsh sometimes. They expected him to act and want certain things, and while he always did his best, he still felt like he could breathe a little better when he was away from them. 

Unfortunately, all the boys had been asked to give the Min’s space for a few weeks to let Yoongi’s mom recover from the birth and let the baby settle. Seokjin had been tempted to climb through Yoongi’s window a few times to get away from home, but he was ultimately more afraid of disappointing his Mama Min (as she’d insisted he’d started calling her back when he was a toddler himself) than anything else. Seokjin had always had the honor of being one of her favorites and he’d rather choke under the pressure at home than be the one to make her upset. Although, he knew that if he’d simply asked nicely she would have allowed him over anyway, but he’d wanted her to have some space. 

Needless to say, he was thrilled to be able to be allowed back over there. His own mother had been talking about marriage meetings already, wanting him to have a handful of girls from acceptable families to pick from. Her idea was that if he got engaged before medical school that would be one less thing he’d have to worry about, and of course the family would have peace of mind. The fact that the name most thrown about was the daughter of the Chief of staff at his father’s hospital was not lost on him. He was smart enough not to tell his mother about his upcoming date with Choi Mina. Though pretty and sweet, her dad was simply a teacher. She wouldn’t get mother’s approval, he knew. 

When school was over, they all raced towards Jin’s Jaguar and piled in. He’d been the first one to turn sixteen and received the car on his birthday, so he’d become the official driver for his group of friends. He didn’t mind much. Everywhere they went he was going to, so really it just saved them a lot of time. He could do without Hoseok always trying to hotbox during their lunch though. 

When he finally drove into his usual space in front of the modest-sized home, it was like a weight was finally pulled off his chest and he could breathe freely. Here, he was simply Jin. No expectations, no demands. Just some time with his friends, maybe helping Mama Min in the kitchen, maybe argue politics a little with Yoongi’s dad. 

As they all piled out of the car, he popped open the trunk and snuck around to pull out the big bag of toys he’d been keeping in there since baby Jungkook was born. He was determined to become the little tyke’s favorite Uncle and what better time to start than in the beginning. Hoseok and Namjoon eyed his bag like they were worried they’d missed some unwritten rule that said you had to bring a gift and Jin knew he was already well on his way to winning already. 

As soon as Yoongi flung open the door, Jin began to feel uneasy. Something was...wrong? No. He wasn’t sure wrong was the word...but something was happening. Something with that scent maybe? He’d smelled it on Yoongi before, but it had always been light. A sweet strawberry scent with a milky undertone that he’d figured belonged to Yoongi’s new omega brother. He’d thought it a really nice smell and enjoyed it when Yoongi would cuddle up with him and he could scent it on him. 

This was different. This was the full straight from the tap scent and something about it made him feel a little antsy. He trailed behind the rest of the guys, letting them greet Yoongi’s parents first. They seemed thrilled to see them all, as they sat on their living room couch and ushered the boys over. 

Mama Min spotted him first, waving him closer with her free hand. She smiled up at him and gently raised the wrapped bundle in her arms. 

“Here, Jinnie. You hold him first while I finish setting up dinner. I trust you the most not to drop him.”

Without giving him a chance to protest, she pulled the bag of toys out of his hand and pushed the baby towards him. On instinct, he cradled the infant close to him, the sweet scent of him tickling his nose. He was easily able to hold the entire body across one arm and was so amazed at how tiny he seemed. 

Curiosity was urging him to peel back the blanket so he could see the baby’s face. He wondered if the little thing had the Min nose. He loved to annoy Yoongi with booping his little button nose and he was looking forward to doing it to someone else. 

One long finger peeled the blanket away from the infant’s face and his little brown eyes locked onto Jin’s own as they stared at each other. 

And just like that, Kim Seokjin’s blessed life came to a crashing halt. 

He could feel as his most primal urges slowly came forward, taking over his conscious. He wanted to protect this little infant with his very life. No one could hurt him, no one could touch him. If anyone so much as looked at this baby wrong, he would kill them. He was Seokjin’s. 

“Dude, Seok. Your eyes are red. Why the fuck are you going alpha right now?” 

Jin blinked at Yoongi, trying to grasp what the other Alpha was saying to him. 

Was he a threat? 

Jin sniffed at him a little. No. Family. Safe. 

“Seokjin? Is everything alright?” 

Mama Min’s concerned expression was what finally got through to him. He fought to clear his head, looking down to make sure he hadn’t hurt the baby. He was at war with his own mind, wanting to give her the baby and make a run for it, but also something wanted him to protect Jungkook even from his own mother. 

Mine

Mama Min’s shocked face as he lowly growled was the last straw. Using the last shred of self-control he was able to conjure up, he quickly shoved the bundle into her arms and jogged towards the door. 

He refused to stop, even for his friends calling his name or Mama Min telling him to wait. Even when the baby started wailing and every cell in his body was demanding he turn around and care for the infant. 

Because he’d just met his true mate.

And he was only six weeks old. 

Kim Seokjin’s life was a cursed one. 

[baytownproject]

“2020, and with it COVID-19, caused severe strife and strain in many people’s lives. Whether the loss of a loved one or a job, or financial issues, it was definitely a tough year. For some of us, though, 2020 didn’t create any problems that weren’t already there, whether obvious or hidden beneath the surface. It simply magnified these issues and forced us to deal with them. Personally, 2020 was the year that my severe mental illness caught up with me.

“I’ve suffered from severe depression and anxiety since I was 16 years old. Now at 33, I’ve battled this often misunderstood disease for more than half my life. Somehow, even with several bouts of depressive episodes, I managed to power through. I completed a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, 200-hour yoga teacher training, and then two pregnancies. I got really good at compartmentalizing my mental health issues: stuffing everything away, not really dealing with anything, and then just living life in survival mode. No big deal. Nothing to see here.

“Growing up, while most little girls dreamed of having babies and getting married, I fantasized about becoming president, a lawyer or a doctor. By the time I reconnected with my now-husband in late 2014 (we knew each other in high school, and I had a huge crush on him when I was 15), I had resigned myself to being #foreveralone. I had two dogs, and a budding social work and yoga career. I was fine. But life obviously had different plans for me. Really, it’s no surprise that my transition into motherhood and marriage has been challenging.

“Fast forward to February 2020, when I told my sister-in-law and another close friend that I was feeling suicidal. My daughter had just turned 1 in September, and I felt like I was finally coming up for air after a brutal year navigating life with an infant and toddler, and again, living in constant survival mode. Robbyn (my sister-in-law) and Lori (my best friend) immediately came to my house and talked me through what I was feeling, and made sure I was safe. The next day they checked on me and encouraged me to contact my psychiatrist, who had been treating me for antepartum/postpartum depression the last for years. I got set up to see her that week, and she increased my dose of Sertraline (generic Zoloft). After a few weeks, I could sense the darkness lifting.

“Then March and COVID-19 came along. I was working part time for Clear Creek ISD in League City. As the State of Texas came to a halting stop — businesses shuttering, schools closing for two weeks to ‘slow the spread’ and ‘flatten the curve’ — I found myself stuck at home, alone and isolated from family, with a 1 1/2-year-old and nearly 4-year-old. April was grueling, as the virus was still so new and so much was unknown. We were not visiting anyone outside of our home. There was nowhere to go and nothing to do. Finally, at the end of the month, I took my kids on a walk to our neighborhood park. I felt so nervous and judged for letting them on community playground equipment. But my sanity was starting to falter. Something had to give.

“By May, I had to call in reinforcements. My mom and stepdad became my saving grace. Every two weeks, they picked up my kids and gave us a 24-36-hour reprieve. Don’t get me wrong, I love my children. But I was never cut out to be a stay-at-home mom. I am happiest when I’m working and putting my skills to use. So I was slowly dying inside each day, at my children’s beck and call.

“The school district was having us attempt to work from home. That meant I was on Zoom through March and April, while my kids screamed in the background. Then I had to stay up late to answer emails and complete documentation in peace. It wasn’t working for me. It was too stressful, and my productivity was nonexistent. My colleagues and boss could tell. So I turned in my two weeks’ notice and left my position by the middle of May. I began assisting with screening stations at the entrances of the hospital where I also work, as my regular assignment in the case management department was forced to reduce usage of PRN staff. My dad watched the kids so I could go to work two or three times a week, which I looked forward to doing. We powered through the summer months, finally getting used to the ‘new normal’ of social distancing, mask wearing and, for the most part, staying home.

“At the end of August, though, something in me snapped. We had moved into a new home at the end of July (in hindsight, moving in the midst of a pandemic, during the second wave no less, might have been a poor choice). We were struggling with an ant infestation at our new place. One day, as they were marching through our garage, inches from the door to the interior of our house, just a feet from our pantry, I flipped out. My husband and I got into a massive argument over buying ant poison. I stormed inside and locked myself in our bedroom. I was sobbing and struggling to catch my breath. I felt completely out of control. I knew something had to change, and fast. I was either going to hurt myself or someone else. So I texted my best friend, Lori, and told her how I was feeling and that I was contemplating checking into a mental hospital. She encouraged me to pack a bag and go. And that’s what I did. Without saying another word, I packed a bag, got into my car, and drove across Houston to check into Houston Behavioral Hospital. I was shaking and nervous to go inside. But I finally mustered the courage to get out of the car and enter the building. 

“While I was going through intake, answering questions from the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (an assessment tool that I was familiar with as part of my line of work), I started to feel like I had made a huge mistake. Anxiety set in, and my mind starting racing. Did I really want to do this? Was I just being dramatic? Who would take the kids to preschool the next day? Crap! Their nap mats are in my trunk. The mortgage is due, and I’m the only one with the login info. I wanted to tell the staff never mind and just leave, go home, and pretend like everything was OK. I decided to call my husband and let him know where I was and that I was about to be admitted. I told him I would have to turn off my phone and turn it in to be locked away while I was in the hospital. He told me to do what I needed and take care of myself.

“‘Take care of myself.’ What a novel idea. So many times, the needs of women and mothers are placed on the back burner. We take care of everyone and everything else, and we are left with very little energy or time to tend to our own health. It’s a tragedy and an American epidemic. No paid maternity leave, no paid partner/spousal leave, and very little postpartum care/follow-up allows room for a whole crop of issues to arise. 

“So 2020 was the year that I finally started taking care of myself again. I can’t be a good mother, wife, sister, daughter, friend or employee if I’m silently suffering, and placing my needs and health at the bottom of the totem pole. It took a pandemic to finally get me to this point. But I’m getting the help, healing and support that I need in order to be the best version of me. I’ve made it my mission to share my story as often as possible to help reduce the shame, guilt and stigma associated with mental illness and with seeking help.”

— Rachel Flinn

[bbrandy2002]

The Diary of Riley Brooks

Wacky Drabble #6

Prompt: So, is this something you do regularly.

A/N: I have no idea if someone else has done a Riley journal and Im not scouring tumblr to find out. Tag me, if so.

Drabbler tags: @emceesynonymroll @burnsoslow @katedrakeohd @romanticatheart-posts @jessiembruno @dcbbw @stopforamoment @sirbeepsalot

September 7

Dear Diary,

I'm still in fucking Texas!!!!!  I swear, this has felt like every bit of seven weeks with no end in sight. Between that bitch, Leona and the damn roosters waking me up every morning at 5 a.m.,  I'm ready to set this ranch ablaze and piss on it's ashes. Is that wrong to think?? I WANNA GO HOME!!!!

So, this day started out as it usually does in this place, with unnecessary shit that I don't care about, but, somehow get roped into. Even with all the Savannah, Bertrand, Chuck, Buck, I don't give the fuck what his name is, drama, it was one of the most memorable days of my entire life.

First things first.....Savannah starts her shit as soon as I wake up thing this morning, and, of course, I have to deal with her. She thought Bertrand left her ass at the alter, which is what she rightfully deserves, however, my brother is unfortunately not a man who would do something so intelligent. Thankfully, Bertrand had talked to Bianca and that finally put the drama queen at ease. So, I volunteer like the saint I am, secretly just wanting to get the fuck away from Sav for a while, nauseous as hell, to retrieve one groom that I find at a local general store.

After I beat the shit out of Bertrand, I sweet talk the shop owner, who lools like a young Sam Elliot, into giving us the Walker family saddle. I played the Queen card like a fucking pro and Cassidy, a man by the way, lapped every sweet bit of me up. We retrived that saddle and hauled ass back to the ranch.

Now that I had saved the day, once again, I headed upstairs to get ready. I met Hana first, who I swear, sometimes make me question my sexuality, the girl looked lit. I change into a lovely, pink dress, but, not my usual little pink dress, one that actually makes me look like the godess that I am. I swear, my boobs are hanging out the front, they've never looked fuller. Liam should have no trouble reaching his hand up this sexy number during the reception.

Liam then changed into his suspenders ensemble and it took everything I had not rip his pants down right then and there and take every single inch of him.

Like this entire trip has been, Madeleine rolls in like a fucking nightmare that I can't escape from, bitching about us taking too long. Of course, the instant I hear that grating sound of her voice, I feel like I'm going to vomit. For some reason, I don't think I'll ever be able to explain, Madeleine actually served a purpose in my life today. Why the bitch is carrying around a pregnancy test, beats me, but, whatev's.

Everything was going okay, considering I had just pissed on a stick with Madeleine in the damn room. After her timer goes off, I pull the test out of the drawer and its a big fat negative. Like, what the hell!!!! We're fucking like rabbits people, Liam's boys are more than up to the task according to the doctor. I was quite certain this time, they hit their target. I go to close the drawer and see another pregnancy test in there and that one is positive...someone just shoot me already.  This is one of many reason why, I WANNA GO HOME!!!! Who the hell took a test and just left it in the bathroom drawer? Hmmm?

So the process of elimination begins.

Penelope was already starting with the poodle talk, for the love god, Olivia, I would have pardoned you on the spot if you had stabbed her. Be nice Riley, all has been forgiven for her stunt at Applewood, or is it. I still don't trust her.

Outside we go and I'll admit, the wedding decorations were beautiful. For people recommended by Leo, I fully expected nothing short of a rager...but, this was nice too.

I was able to eliminate Kiara before the ceremony started, one down and about six more to go.

I saw Bianca, did she for real not change her clothes for her own daughter's wedding...haha...nice! And did Savannah give all the credit for that saddle to Bertrand? Bitch, she should be bowing before me right now.

That dumbass, back from the dead, Barthelemy was screeching like a hyena right in the middle of the procession. Thankfully, Madeleine's got enough screeching in her for all of Cordonia and was able to get him to shut the hell up. The man has been in a coma for last 15 years, he shouldn't have much to say.

Okay, I'll admit, Drake looked damn good out there today, it almost brought a tear to my eye when he stepped up and helped his sister off the horse. Too bad the damn thing didn't trample her to death. Did I just write that out loud? I will blame it on my hormones.

Dear God, Bertrand? I've never seen him in anything other than sweater vests or leisure suits, he cleans up nicely. Why is it that when he walks me down the aisle, the biggest damn event in Cordonian history, he's dressed like fucking hobo and today he decides to wear a tux. I'm still salty as hell at him for that little stunt.

I hear nothing as Liam begins the ceremony, is he my baby daddy or not? Its the only thing I have on my mind, until dumb fuck Chuck objects to this sham of a marriage. Come on Sav, just admit you've had your ass tapped a time or two by him.

In the time I've known Bertrand, the thought of punching him has crossed my mind more than once, however, no one else messes with my Beaumont crew. Liam, you knew what you were getting into when you married me, so it shouldn't surprise you when I want to see a good ass kicking. I loved that I was part of ruining Savannah's day...I'm the Queen girl!

After helping Bertrand nail his vows, it was time to find out if I'm knocked up or not. Its hard to imagine Penelope knows the first thing about sex, so I bat the bouquet towards Olivia, who refused to catch it. After a memorable exchange, where Olivia threatened to punch Madeleine in the, I quote, "irritating face", god I love that bitch so much, I was able to eliminate her.

It was during the reception that I truly felt in my heart, I was pregnant. That moment when my husband held a toddler down so I could scrap icing off Bartie was a clear indication something is up. Also #couplegoals; this man will do anything for me.

Lastly, I found out who the twat was that left the used pregnancy test in the drawer of my bathroom. Why was I even surprised to find out it was Savannah? All I could ask her was, so, is this something you do regularly, throw your negative piss tests back in the drawer. That skank was in my bathroom, knowing I'm trying to get pregnant, and left it there, in hopes of what? Girl, you will never be me no matter how hard you try!

I can't worry about that now, I'm pregnant. I can't wait to tell Liam, when he sobers up, his dream is coming true. We are going to have a baby.

Riley

[burgundydahlia]

What do Ron and Hermione love most about each other

So, I’m pretty sure you meant this in a much more practical sense: like, Hermione loves Ron’s eyes. She loves the way they swim somewhere between green and blue like the ocean; how they shine when he laughs; how they soften when he looks at their children; how they fill with a fiery passion when the two of them are alone. And she loves the firm, yet gentle, feel of his hands on her and how he always finds a reason to touch her, whether it’s holding her hand as they walk into the Burrow for Sunday dinner or briefly running his fingertips across her lower back or her forearm when he brushes past her as he moves about the room. 

And Ron loves Hermione’s wild hair - the smell of it, the feel of it in his hands, the way it catches the light and looks like a halo around her. Hell, he even loves how when he wakes up in the morning he’s often surrounded by it like a jungle he’s gotten lost in. He often rolls closer to her, burying himself deeper inside it and breathes in deeply, kissing her curls as he smiles. And he loves her smile and how she has a different one for each occasion. Like how her mouth curls upwards like the Cheshire cat when she’s excited about something or has a particularly brilliant idea, and the broad, toothy smile she shines at their children when she plays with them or reads to them before bed at night. Though his favorite might still be the smile she saves just for him; it starts at her eyes, warming them and making them sparkle, and then spreads to her cheeks, turning them a delicate shade of pink, before traveling to her mouth. She bites her bottom lip briefly, tugging on the skin until it turns opaque, then her lips bloom and curl into the most dazzling smile he’s ever seen. No matter how much time passes, it always makes his heart skip a beat.

And I think there are a million of things like those examples above that they love about each other. But for some reason, I’m feeling a little more creative today so I’m going to try and give a slightly more nuanced answer. I’m putting it under the cut, so I hope you’ll enjoy :)

I think there’s a lot of things, both big and small, that they love about each other. And I think over the years and as their relationship grows and evolves some of those things change as well.

For example, when they’re eighteen and newly free from the pain and terror of the war, I think they love that they can be vulnerable and raw with one another. They’ve been stripped away of all pretense and have seen each other at their lowest moments. But rather than being scared off or uncomfortable, they love each other all the more for it. They prop one another up and find both comfort and a means of healing themselves in their efforts to heal each other. 

As they begin to really move into being a normal, new relationship, they love discovering new little things about each other. Hermione loves how Ron surprises her with kisses, and how he looks a bit dazed after each one like he still cannot believe that he gets to do that whenever he wants. She loves how his chest puffs out a bit when he refers to her as his girlfriend and how he is genuinely proud of her for going back to Hogwarts to finish her last year there. She also loves how he’s protective, but not overbearing, and how he is gentle and patient with her and shockingly romantic. While Ron loves how Hermione supports him and is often his loudest champion; in fact, she doesn’t just support him in his decision to split his time at the shop and working as an Auror rather than returning to Hogwarts, she immediately creates a daily calendar and routine for him to follow in order to make sure he doesn’t burn out by spreading himself too thin. He loves how she sends him a letter every single day when she’s away, giving intricate and often mundane detail so he knows how she’s doing because she knows he worries, and how she ends each one with a numbered countdown to the next time they get to see one another in person. And when they’re together, he loves how Hermione curls herself against him, wrapping her arms and legs around him like vines creeping up old castle walls, and how she whispers his name like it’s somewhere between a prayer and an incantation. And they both love how they flush red when they touch one another and that neither of them ever get tired of saying, or hearing, the words, “I love you.”

When they’re twenty-two and still reveling in the newness of marriage, they love the calm and stability they find in each other and their newfound domesticity. Hermione loves coming home to see him there, like an incredible light at the end of a tunnel, and loves that without fail he comes to greet her at the door (she’s always home after him) with a kiss and a lopsided smile. She loves how confident he is in his work and how wildly proud he is of her accomplishments as well. And she also cannot express just how much she loves that he cooks and will rave to anyone who will listen (and even some who don’t want to) about just how incredible his cottage pie is. And Ron loves the quiet rhythm they’ve established; how Hermione wakes before him and makes coffee and breakfast for them both and how she always kisses him first thing in the morning when they wake up and again at night before they go to bed. He loves that she has secret stashes of books hidden around their home and how she always seems to be reading at least four of them simultaneously. He also loves saying, “My wife,” when he talks about her to others, to the point where some members of his family have started to remind him that they know who Hermione is and don’t need him to constantly refer to her as some sort of official title. Hermione, however, blushes when he says it and she beams at him. Ron then kisses her forehead, mumbling it against her skin once more as she shivers against him and they both fall a little bit more in love with one another.

When they’re thirty and the parents of not just one, but now two small children, they love one another for things they might not have ever considered before. Hermione loves Ron for how quickly he’ll wake up from a deep sleep and rush into the nursery when Hugo starts to fuss and how he can make Rose scream with laughter by doing silly voices, not to mention how he never complains about having to deal with a disastrous nappy or a toddler meltdown. And Ron loves Hermione for the quiet patience she exhibits with their children, listening to Rose when she’s babbling nonsense and how she engages her in conversation with genuine interest at what she’s saying. Or how she hums a little tune to Hugo whenever she’s giving him a bath or feeding him, and how she always rocks him to sleep and reads to Rose every night, and how she showers both children in kisses before she leaves for work, trying to stretch out her time every morning because he knows that although she loves her work, she truly hates leaving her family. 

When they’re forty-one and both their children are officially at Hogwarts, they love one another because they don’t have to be Mum and Dad first, but get to be husband and wife again. They love each other because they know they miss their children, but now that it’s just the two of them at the house they get to have a lie in together on the weekends; they can turn a random Tuesday night into a date night at their favorite local restaurant; they can, and do, spend an hour in the shower together just like they used to do in their early twenties. Ron specifically loves that Hermione writes long, detailed letters to both Hugo and Rose every week, making sure each one is personal and individualized. He loves that she sometimes sits in Rose or Hugo’s rooms as she reads because it makes her feel closer to them and that she plans massive feasts and holiday celebrations when they come home at Christmas and Easter. Hermione loves that Ron regularly sends sweets and goods from the shop along with notes of encouragement, reminding Rose and Hugo that they need to take care of one another and to please listen to McGonagall and Hagrid. She loves that he has every single Gryffindor Quidditch match marked in bold, red letters on their calendar in their kitchen, that he’s louder than every other person sitting in the stands the first time he sees Rose fly out onto the pitch, and that he posts Hugo’s marks on the wall behind him at the shop because he’s so proud of him for being just as brilliant as his mum.

And through all their time together - over all the years and the ups and downs, they mostly love that they are still each others’ best friends. They are still the first people they want to talk to when something happens, be it a crisis or a question or if they have something to celebrate. They are partners, through and through, and the ultimate team. But more than that they love each other because they choose one another, over and over and over again and will continue to do so even when they’re old and grey.

Thanks for the ask, Nonny!

[something-fanfiction-ie]

Daughters To Wed | Three

Pairing: Prince!Tom Holland x Reader

Warnings: Mentions of violence towards the end. Allusions toward an emotionally abusive father, and I want to say that’s all?

Word Count: 3 ,132

Summary: You are the daughter of a man infamous for having many children, only to marry them off in an effort to climb the social ladder and gain more riches. You have grown up hating the idea of marriage, only to be married to the Prince of Braydal, and the future King, Thomas Holland. The both of you are very unwilling partners, and that seems to be the only thing you have in common. It isn’t until things start to crumble around you that you realize there might be more to the cold prince than you thought.

| Prologue | One | Two |

___

For as long as you can remember, you have always feared your father. It had been a fear you learned through your siblings and your mother. 

Just try to stay out of Papa’s way, okay? Mama would say, ushering you out of his sight. Your childhood was a long blur of the back of your mother’s skirts . When your mother passed away, it became your older sister’s skirts, and when you were too old to hide behind skirts, you had learned to simply listen to orders the first time they were given.

Your fear for you father was so apart of you that, even as the future Queen, the thought of his presence frightened you to the core. 

Tom glanced at you out of the corner of his eyes as you both stood on the front lawn of the palace to welcome the man who haunted your nightmares. It was early morning, the sun already causing sweat to bead on brows.

Still, your teeth chattered uncontrollably. You couldn’t get rid of the feeling that he would see past the charade you and Tom tried to put on. If he ever found out, he would be mad. Seething and frothing from the mouth mad.

If you had just listened to Mama, then maybe you wouldn’t be in this situation. If you had kept your head down, had stayed out of his way, then maybe you wouldn’t be the girl on the prince’s arm. 

“Are you okay?” Tom leaned toward you. There wasn’t any real concern in his voice that you could pick up on. It sounded more like when someone is trying to check on your sanity. 

You snapped your teeth together, clenching the points of your fingernails into the palms of your hands.

“Yes, Your Highness.” He raised an eyebrow that clearly stated that he didn’t believe you for even a fraction of a second. 

“If you want your father to believe that our marriage is a successful one, then perhaps you shouldn’t be standing so far away and perhaps you shouldn’t look as if you are being lead to your execution.” Both eyebrows go up in unison, coupled with a small smile that did nothing for your nerves. 

Despite his suggestion, you stay put and are surprised when he is the one that closes the distance between you. The rough fabric of his jacket brushes against  your arm, the cloth separating your skin from touching. 

The sound of horse hooves beating on the road to the palace pulls you from whatever strange moment you were having with your husband. 

Your father’s carriage is black as night and pulled by two mares born of the same darkness. You can’t help but think that the color suits him as a person. Like Death and Misery riding a carriage into the palace.

When it finally stops in front of the small crowd of royals collected for his arrival, you really wish God would set the mood with a little bit of lightning, dark clouds, and sheets of rain.

Instead, the sun shines down like a spotlight as a monster steps out of the carriage door and flashes his deceivious smile.

“Thank you for allowing me to visit, Your Majesties.” He bows low, but not before casting you a look that could kill. Somehow, your father is already disappointed in you. Years and years of fears come rushing at you like a derailed locomotive.

Your hand shoots out, grabbing Tom’s and threading your fingers. You can feel your heart thrumming in your fingertips and you are certain that Tom can feel it too. You expect him to shoot you a weird look, maybe even pull his hand away. Instead, he keeps his eyes on your father and squeezes your hand, almost like he is trying to reassure you.

It’s nice.

“So nice of you to grace us with your presence, My Lord.” Nicola smiles, motioning for your father to rise from his bow. You nearly jump out of your skin when Tom starts to smooth his thumb against the back of your hand. 

Your father spouted a bunch of lies about missing his daughter, something that could definitely be equated to horseshit. You zoned out the moment Tom started to act like am actual husband by trying to soothe your nerves with small touches. 

The strange gesture did not go unnoticed by the rest of the group, besides your father, who merely glared at you with even more animosity than before. 

One prince elbowed another prince who kicked the last prince who tugged on the back of a King’s coat who cast a devilish smile at the Queen who just widened her eyes ever so slightly at her eldest son.

Tom simply smiled a wide grin, pulled your arm through the crook of his elbow, and prepared himself to put on the show of his life. 

You expected the knock at your door that night.

When you pushed the overly sized door open, Tom stood on the other side, wearing only his under shirt, trousers, and a dress robe. You’d never seen him so down dressed. It was almost an immediate decision that you liked him like this. 

“Are you going to let me in or are you just going to keep staring at me?” He smiled deviously when you huffed, pulling away from the doorway and allowing him to enter your room. You pulled your dress robe tight against your body, suddenly wishing that you had stayed dressed.

Tom gazed around the room curiously. The last time he had been in your room, you’d only been married for two weeks. Now, as the two of you neared a year of marriage, he couldn’t help the odd feeling that came with being married to a stranger for a year and having learned very little about them.

He didn’t even know your middle name.

“You did a very convincing job today, Your Highness.” You shuffled your feet before deciding to sit in one of the chairs next to your balcony doors.

“You did not.” He responded, still walking around the room and noticing everything you’ve changed.

The family portrait was still missing from its place above the fireplace, you had letters upon letters strewn across your desk. A flick of his gaze confirmed that your hands were spotted with ink from writing.

Tom reminded himself that you had a great many more siblings than he did and you had been, and it appeared you still were, very close with them.

On your nightstand was a book, upon closer inspection he realized it was A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. It was bookmarked with an open envelope, probably from one of the many letters you’d received from your siblings. Next to the book we’re two pictures in frames.

One of the two was a group picture of no less than twenty people. You confirmed that it was the last picture taken of all of your siblings.

“Although, that was a few years ago and Katherine has had three children since then. In fact, I believe Jane wrote that she was pregnant again.”

Tom saved his choked shocked for a different time, instead focusing on the smaller picture that occupied an intricate oval frame.

Surrounded by silver filigree were a woman with a kind face, her lips permanently pulled into a small smile, and a toddler with your eyes, sitting in the woman’s lap and smiling at the camera.

There was no question as to who the people in the picture were, Tom could see the resemblance between the woman in the picture and the woman you had become.

You offered nothing to him about your mother or even the picture, only changed the subject.

“Tell me how to do better.” It took Tom a second to loop back to his earlier comment on your poor acting skills. The whole time the both of you had been in the same room with your father, you had remained stiff as a board. It was frustrating given the fact that you had been the one to act like he would mess up the charade of a couple in love.

“You have to relax, pretend,...” Tom waves his hands around, searching for the right words, “Pretend that I make you feel safe. People in love feel safe around each other, because they’ve seen the most vulnerable parts of one another and they trust that the other will protect them and their vulnerabilities.”

You nod your head, following his movements with your eyes. He really doesn’t sit down much when he talks.

“Touching helps.” He adds.

“Nothing major, but small things. It shows that your comfortable with me. Touch my shoulder when you address me in a group conversation, I’ll put my hand on your back when we stand next to each other, just anything you’ve ever seen your mom and dad do with...” Tom trails off when he realizes that you’ve never seen anything like that from your mom and dad.

Heaven only knows if you’ve ever seen it at all. All your siblings have also been in arranged marriages and Tom isn’t aware of any of them being in loving arranged marriages.

“I’ve been here a year now, Your Highness, I’ve seen how the King and Queen are around each other.”

“And drop that.” Tom groans, desperate to change the subject and get rid of the awkward tension building up from the topic.

You raise your eyebrows in question.

“The ‘Your Highness’ crap. Tom is fine, or Thomas. If we’re in a year-long loving marriage, we won’t still be addressing one another formally. Hell, you can even give me a pet name if you would like.”

“A pet name?” Your lips turn up in amusement and Tom can’t help but take a moment to admire how the small movement of your lips lights up your whole face.

“If you would like, you do not have to if you do not wish it.”

“Anything else of note?” At the moment, Tom can’t think of anything else you could do.

“You’ll get plenty of practice tomorrow.”

The smile disappears and you lean forward in your chair curiously.

“What is tomorrow?” Tom doesn’t try to hide the disappointment he has in you for not knowing what tomorrow was.

“It is the Founders Parade. We’ll be in our own, seperate carriage. It will last a good hour or two given that we’ll be traveling at a snails pace through the capital. Nobody will be able to hear us over the cheering of the crowd so I’ll be able to coach you.”

You want nothing more than to crawl under your overly large bed and hide there until the parade is over. Balls, parties, and political events are no problem for you. What you despised the most was events like the parade, the events where you had to face the kingdom with your failed marriage that the entire country knew about.

Adding on the fact that you would be practicing how to pretend to love your husband made it even worse.

You already wanted it to be over.

The Founders Parade has been a tradition carried out by the royal family for over sixty eight years. 

They bring candies and horses and they ride through the capital in open carriages, waving and smiling at the people of their country. All workplaces are closed and people host celebrations all across the island.

When you were a girl, you adored Founders Day. You and a few of your older siblings would put on brightly colored clothes and go into town. All the girls would buy crowns made of large red carnations, the national flower, from vendors at the festival. Everyone bounced from gypsy dances to instrument circles and food carts, laughing and smiling and enjoying themselves. 

Your favorite party was the gypsy dances. All year, you would count down the days until you could take off your shoes, loop gold bangles around your ankles and push your mother’s armlet up your bicep. 

She was a gypsy before she married your father and the bangles and the armlet were the only thing she had from that life. 

Gypsies were your favorite kind of people. Unlike most groups of people, there was nothing in their looks or beliefs that discerned them from the rest of the population. There are red headed gypsies, there are dark-skinned gypsies, there are gypsies with slanted eyes, and there are gypsies with all different types of Gods and beliefs. 

What put gypsies apart from every one else was their nomadic ways, their brightly colored clothes, their jewelry, and their tattoos. 

Most gypsies traveled in large communities headed by whomever they saw fit. Some even had women leaders. 

“Women?!” You had cried out when your mother told you. 

“Yes!” She had laughed, tucking you into bed, trying desperately to get you to go to sleep. 

It was the only way she could get you to go to bed, stories of her gypsy life. And every once in a while, she would show you her tattoo. A simple black copy of her armlet which circled the middle of her left bicep. You got one of your own at a Founders festival when you were thirteen, the age all young gypsies were allowed to begin getting tattoos. 

Your mother was dead by then. 

That was the last Founders celebration you ever went to. When your mother died, you stopped going because the gypsies made you think of her and it ruined the whole night. You only went that one night to get the tattoo, to have a permanent reminder of her with you forever, and you never went again. 

You kept the armlet and the bangles safely wrapped in a box you kept pushed under your bed. 

Now, after a very long time, you would be observing the holiday once more. Maybe not in the way that you used to, but it would be very likely that you would catch a glimpse of a gypsy in the crowd, the sun reflecting off of their gold jewelry and the bright coloring of their clothes setting them even more apart from the rest of the crowd. 

With that kind of distraction, how would you ever be able to practice with Tom? 

“(Y/N)?” You snapped to attention, looking over at your husband in a daze. “You alright?” He whispered, glancing at the rest of the table as everyone else continued to eat their breakfast. His eyes were drawn to your hand, which had found it’s way up to your arm, brushing against the fabric over your tattoo. 

Shaking your head, you waved away Tom’s worried tone. 

“I’ll be fine.” It was a struggle not to end that sentence with, ‘Your Highness,’ and yet somehow you managed. Tom went back to eating his food, but still cast you a worried look every once in a while. Obviously for show, your father was just three seats away from you both and his eyes were not unlike a hawk’s. 

Unfortunately, you were in a bit of a daze for the rest of the morning. You let Elizabeth move you around however she pleased as she got you ready for the parade. 

Your dress was simple and the same color red as the carnations that decorated the straw bonnet you were to wear. Just like your wedding dress, the neckline bared your shoulders and cinched tightly around the tops of your arms. Although, the sleeves covered your biceps, hiding the tattoo from sight. 

That thought saddened you just a little.

“Up we go.” Said the stable boy as he helped you climb into the carriage, holding one of your hands as you gripped the side of the carriage with your other hand. 

You pulled yourself into the carriage with no help from your husband, who was already relaxed into his seat. You made sure your frustration with him for his lack of assistance was clearly evident as you sat as far away from him as the carriage bench allowed. It hadn’t been hard getting in the carriage, but the both of you were supposed to be pretending to be madly in love with one another and it just seemed to you that aiding one’s wife into a carriage would be apart of that act.

“Do you have somethings against Founders? Is that why you are in such an odd mood today?” He mused, his lips just upturned ever so slightly. Tom was clearly amused by your anger, which just fueled your irritation with him even more. 

“You could say that.” You replied, smoothing down your skirt and straightening your spine. When you finally turned to look at him, you saw the intense curiosity on his face. He wanted an explanation for why you were acting the way you were. It would be to his great disappointment that he would not receive any way of an explanation. 

After several seconds of silence on your part, he finally understood that you would not broach the topic and resigned himself from the subject. In fact, neither of you said a word until the succession was given the go ahead to begin moving. 

Your stomach lurched forward with the horses, rocking with the momentum in which they pulled the carriage into motion. To keep yourself from grabbing Tom hand, which was the opposite of what you should have been doing, you clenched the fabric of your skirts so tightly that you could feel your nails through the several layers of cambric and taffeta. 

“Remember, darling,” Tom slipped his hand through the bunched up fabric and intertwined your fingers together. “Practice.” 

For most of the parade, you waved and plastered a smile to your face. Wave after wave of knives sunk into your chest with every gold-jeweled, brightly-colored gypsy. Every once in a while, Tom would put his hand on the small of your back, waving to the other side of the crowd with his other hand. When any conversation arose, you tried to turned your whole body toward him, reaching out to touch his shoulder, leaning in so that he could hear you better over the yelling. 

It was the closest you had been to one another since your wedding day. 

You pulled back, looking into his eyes as he thought of a response. You had asked him something that, years down the road or even the next day, you wouldn’t remember. It was a menial question with no importance. Even Tom would forget what it was you wanted to know. You never got a response to that question, whatever it was. 

Because as your husband opened his mouth to reply, a gun shot echoed over the noise of the crowd and shattered the moment. 

[asianpower5]

Ok so its been 24 hours since I saw the movie and I wanted to write down my thoughts, most of it is for me so I can go back and read how I felt about it years from now, its going to be very long and wordy but im just writing as the thoughts come and now worrying about grammar or anything, that includes timeline, so my thoughts may come to me out of order . I’m going to put it all under read more so i dont spoil it for any of you lovely people

So I got to the theater like 40 minutes early because I just couldnt contain myself and I wanted to get my perfect seat. Wore my new HTTYD shirt and brought my toothless plushie from build a bear (another little girl had the same idea she was so cute)

but now onto the movie

they threw me for a loop I was totally expecting a “this is berk’” speech as the very opening, not the raid, but honestly this movie is about change so I liked the change. But I still got my fix, because as they flew back to Berk my only thought was “this is berk”, AND THEN HE SAID THE THING YES.

Loved the scene in the great forge, it just really showed how big Berk is and how many vikings there are, and seeing them all happy and enjoying a meal together just warmed my heart, plus Gobber teasing Astrid and Hiccup about marriage and Valka beating Spitelout at arm wrestling haha.

Tuffnut was comedic gold, talking about his “beard” and giving hiccup bro pep talks. And when he said the earth was round? and the stars? I almost died laughing. 

Grimmel  being a complete jerk and drugging those poor dragons with their own venom.

Fetch with Hiccup’s leg?? and him dropping it in Astrid’s lap and then being over protective of the leg when Stormfly came near it? Then Hiccup tickling Astrid, what did we do to deserve such a cute Hiccstrid scene?

Toothless meeting the light fury was even better than I thought, he was such a dork and had no idea what to do, then looking to Hiccup for advice about how to flirt oh gosh silly boy.

Im calling Hiccup out on his saying Astrid isnt a romantic, I mean Hiccup is totally the hopeless romantic, but Astrid in my mind is totally a secret romantic, at least when it comes to her own relationship.

Also Toothless practicing his mating dancing by watching his shadow and studying the naddars as they danced was so adorable.

Ok ngl I actually thought Grimmel had shot Toothless in the house, and I was so happy to see that is was part of their plan and that he had back up (sorry Fishlegs I love you and you took one for the team so good on you!). Why I was surprised by this idk, I know these characters enough to know that they would pull something like that. BUT HICCUP TELLING GRIMMEL OFF AND CALLING HE OUT FOR SITTING IN STOICKS CHAIR, YES BOY. That just made the feeling of Berk being attacked and flames burning everywhere hurt so much more.

The meeting with all of Berk? Just wow, I mean first off I love that Hiccup had his whole gang up there with him, just goes to show that he really trusts them and values them as being part of the team. Astrid sticking up for my boy and Tuff just going “IM WITH HIM WHO ELSE” A plus team work, I loved the support. Not to mention the fact that Hiccup was able to convince them all to pack up what little they could carry and leave. I mean we know from the first movie that vikings are stubborn, but they are also capable of change. The fact that they left their home of 7 generations and probably left some import things they couldnt carry with them was such an amazing gesture. And Berk really is where ever the vikings are, it is not just a single island. It really hurt to see them leave the island, the place where it all started, but the fact that they all stuck together really shows how strong of a bond they have as a people. 

Light fury knocking Hiccup off Toothless, such a sassy girl I love her. I mean come on Toothless was obviously gunna save him. Also the sheeps wanting to be dragons is something I never new I needed, especially after seeing how afraid of dragons they used to be (I mean the dragons did hunt them, but im all here for them cosplaying as their favorite dragons) 

I JUST REMEMBERED I NEVER TALKED ABOUT FLASHBACKS SO LETS DO THAT NOW. First of little toddler Hiccup??? THE FRICKIN CUTEST THING EVER OK. I know there was a line in the trailer that wasnt in the movie the one where Stoick says something like “I believe its your destiny to find the hidden world so dragons and vikings no longer need to fight” but I wasnt sad that they didnt keep this line. I think it makes more sense to have what they did, Stoick talking about finding the hidden world so they could protect Berk from it. I mean this took place when they were still fighting dragons, so yea the line about destiny could mean he thinks Hiccup would destroy the hidden world, but the tone of the scene was so calm and relaxing that to me it gave off the vibe that Stock was implying that Hiccup would unite their worlds, which doenst make sense since again they were still at war with the dragons at this point. So I liked what they had in the movie, I think what they kept fit the tone and it still showed how Berk was at war with the dragons.

NEXT FLASHBACK. Little Hiccup just sneaking down the stairs and then his little face like “oh shit” when he saw his dad was up and trying to sneak back up. The way he said he wanted water, I JUST IT WAS SO CUTE, whoever voiced tiny hiccup good job because omg it was so cute. How happy he was to go over to his dad and sit on his lap.  When he asked Stoick if he would get them a new mom, my heart just broke I mean Hiccup was so young that he didn’t fully grasp the situation, and I mean before Hiccup got caught sneaking downstairs we saw Stoick crying. That was so important to me I mean Stoick the Vast, he is massive, and remember the first movie the fact about him ripping a dragons head off as a baby? Yea this character who basically screams masculinity has yet another vulnerable scene, showing yet again that crying is ok (I mean back in the first movie when he told Hiccup he wasnt his son, and when he met Valka again?? yes please keeping showing people that being masculine doenst mean you cant cry!). Stoick teaching Hiccup about love, yes dad points for you, I adore the scenes like these, that show how much Stock loves his family, he would be so proud of Hiccup and who he has become. OH YEA SIDE NOTE HOW I FORGET HICCUPS STUFFED DRAGON? THROWBACK TO THE TV SERIES THANK YOU.

New Berk, cuz thats the best I got to call it right now, love how everyone basically immediately goes to claiming their areas ahha.

Ok Snotlout my boy did you really just say “who died and made yout Chief” because too soon, I still love you

Low key thought they were gunna make Snotlout and Eret a thing, despite the weird flirting Snotlout had with Valka. I mean he was trying to be taller than Eret, and Eret was like hah no, yall id ship it ngl eret and snotlout 

Toothless meeting up with the light fury again, but this time trusting his instincts is another reminder that toothless is in fact an animal, a very intelligent animal, but an animal who has instincts and a desire to be with his own kind, I mean can you blame him? Its been at least 6 years since hes seen another dragon that was like him, maybe even longer depending on how long he was alone before he met hiccup. 

The throw back to the forbidden friendship scene? With toothless drawing in the sand, and oh God I never thought I would get so emotional about sand but dang that sand animation just was so realistic that I wanted to touch it. Hiccup being like “wow now you can draw”, Toothless growling at the light fury like he did to Hiccup back in the first for stepping on his art, come on guys Toothless worked hard on his art! The light fury flying away but toothless not being able to follow her, another throwback to when he couldnt fly with the dragons during the snoggletog special.

Hiccup making toothless a tail to fly alone, and Im glad they added the part when Astrid said they tried it before, again throwback to snoggletog, and that he didnt want the tail, and Hiccup clarifying that it was because he had no need to fly alone before. Now my only worry here is that the casual fan will just think that the exchange is a copout, I mean unless you remember the special you wouldnt know that they tired making him a tail fin and he didnt want it, so to the casual fan it might seem like they only added the comment to answer the question “If hiccup could make a tail fin why did he never do it before?”. Seeing the special where toothless destroys the tail really adds a layer of depth to the scene, because those of us who saw it remember that it was a statement that even though Hiccup had the ability to create a tail so toothless could fly alone, toothless wanted to fly with his best friend and didnt care for the tail. 

now the actual scene with toothless flying alone finding the light fury, first off it was so cute how he showed her his new tail! He was so proud of it, and no doubt proud of his best friend for making it. The scene itself though reminded me so much of the romantic flight, the way they flew together above the clouds and how it gave a sense of flight because we couldnt see the ground, ugg it was so beautiful. I was honestly blown away by the animation, the clouds and the color, they were all so beautiful. Toothless and the light fury flying together and really bonding, similar to Astrid and Hiccup on their first flight together, ugg all the throwbacks to the first movie really killed me. Also Toothless trying to copy the light fury and how she goes invisible was so cute, he was like “ah yes I got this, wait no shit again, no shit again again!” then he basically summons thors power of lighting and finds his new power, so proud of my baby. 

Now I fully believe that Toothless was going to go back to Hiccup after he spent time with the light fury in the hidden world, no way my boy would leave my other boy without a goodbye. But the other started to freak Hiccup out, I mean Hiccup knew his best friend would come back, but the others made him doubt it and seeing him freak out was heart breaking.

Astrid being like boy hop on we gonna get yo dragon, yes girl. Honestly them going into the hidden world on Stormfly? I mean need i say anything about the animation in this scene? The visuals were just breath taking, I cannot put it into words. Tootheless being the alpha is always a win, also Astrid calling him a king and Hiccup realizing that this beautiful place of dragons, is not place for humans, because Valka said it best, greedy humans ruin everything.

Hiccup and Astrid getting caught by a dragon and then going on a fun slide ride, and of course toothless comes through as the alpha to protect his humans, ALSO STORMFLY DONT THINK I FORGOT ABOUT HER, CUZ YES. I mean just like toothless Stormyfly will protect her human best friend, and I love her. 

How did I forget the next raid scene? I mean dang again the visuals and the lighting were just so spot on. Them all getting trapped? Valka being a badass and working with Cloudjumper to save them? Hiccup jumping and just escaping the clutches of Grimmels dragon? RUFFNUT

Ruffnut my girl dont think I forgot about you, I just I dont even know what to do with you. She was amazing, I mean shes just does not care, not scared that shes a prisoner, she fricking just talks about how ‘hot’ she is and just other random stuff about her life, like girl give me that confidence. But when she talked about the island i was like girl no dont do that, but her flying back and saying she doenst look back in response to being asked about being followed was pretty darn funny.

Bro the scene of the light fury and toothless getting captured? Toothless protecting her and telling the other dragons to stand down, at least until they can escape. Just heart breaking, help is so close, but I guess thats the downside of being the alpha, having that power can be used against you.

Astrid my girl, pep talking my boy Hiccup JUST LIKE THE FIRST MOVIE. And yes parallels again, just like in the first one Astrid said things to hiccup, she was very honest with him pointing out the things that had done wrong, the first pointing out how messy the situation got because of the lies, and in this movie pointing out how he constantly doubts himself, and in both Hiccup has a sassy comment regarding her pep talks, but Astrid always follows up with the good, like how he was the first viking to ride a dragon or how he was always brave, even without toothless, showing how she would always be by his side to support him and help him, especially when hes about to do something stupid. I just ugg they are couple goals, they dont even need to say I love you because they SHOW IT in their actions, in their support for eachother, their cute banters, and I am here for it. ALSO I MEAN HE KISSED HER HAIR EARLY AND THEN HER FOREHEAD THOSE ARE SO CUTE TO ME AND JUST SO NATURAL FOR THEM AHHH. Also “so what are you gunna do about it” “probably something stupid” YES YES YES I AM HERE FOR THAT SHIT

Everyone jumping off the island so they can ‘fly’ on their own, just first off so visually amazing, and second off so symbolic to me of each of them spreading their own wings and growing up into amazing people. 

Fishlegs and his baby dragon, I mean come on lets be real that shit is adorable, and baby dragon had his big dragon (does that dragon have a class name? because I dont remember it) friend and Fishlegs be like dont mess with baby dragon. 

Yooo I knew it, from the trailer I was like “Tuffnut is probs pissed that this dude cut off his hair beard” and boom it happned, but rip hair beard (until the end of the movie that is when it comes back)

Yall that unspoken scene where Hiccup and Astrid are just frickin shit up WHILE THEY JUST LOOK AT EACHOTHER, I MEAN HICCUP JUST CASUALLY THROWS SHIT TO START A FIRE AND THE ENTIRE TIME THEY ARE STARING AT EACHOTHER HAVE A CONVERSATION COMPLETELY WITH THEIR EYES LIKE THAT IS SOME NEXT LEVEL SHIT AND COUPLE GOALS.

I got such satisfaction out of Toothless destroying grimmels arrow shoter thing and watching as Grimmel started to get afraid, I mean this dude was so confident in his abilites, and up until now he has had the upper hand, but then you can see the “oh shit moment” as he realizes he is starting to lose and heck yea im here for it. Speaking of oh shit moments, when hiccup was riding toothless and they wer getting attacked? and then toothless is like “I SUMMON YOU THOR AND YOUR LIGHTING” and hiccup was like WTH?!!??!?!?

Ok yall that scene when toothless got shot, and hiccup is hanging from the light fury with grimmel on his leg? I mean Grimmel really thought that he had won, he underestimated the love Hiccup has for Toothless, and the moment that Hiccup told the light fury to save Toothless and he let go? the hesitation she had trying to pick who to save? her new mate, or his best friend that she now seems to understand has a great important meaning to toothless? The image of Hiccup falling, and the camera angle? I mean seeing him fall from above, seeing it in his face that he was content, content knowing that his best friend would be alive and safe and that Grimmel would no longer be able to hurt the dragons or his people? Such a self sacrifice, a true Chief just like his father. 

Then the light fury to the rescue! Hiccup being like LOL BYE GRIMMLE YOU DEAD. Also reminded me of when he started to ride toothless back in the first movie and they fell and hiccup got back on his back and in control just in time, because dang she saved him his butt just before he hit the water. But seriously I loved this scene, she went back for hiccup, she saw the interactions Toothless had with him, how Toothless protected him and Astrid in the hidden world, how Toothless CHOSE HICCUP when he saw him in danger in the hidden world, she came to realize that this boy is important to Toothless, and she saw that Hiccup was willing to die for Toothless, and she went back and saved him, and God I got emotional.

Also Hiccup leaning on Astrid because he has lost his prostectic leg, yessss im here for it

NOW TO THE REAL TEAR JERKER I mean gosh you could just see the realization again in Hiccup that the dragons didnt belong with them on Berk, that even though they love the dragons and the dragons love them, even though they have worked together for years and they want to live together in peace they just cant do it safely.There are too many people out in the world who would attack berk, and we have seen that both in the movies and the show, and that puts both the people and the dragons at risk. 

It was safest for everyone if the dragons went to the hidden world, where no one could find them, well expect Hiccup and Astrid who have been there once. I just cant though, that scene was just so amazing and heart crushing. I mean you can see it that Toothless doesnt want to leave his best friend, and Hiccup doenst want him to leave, but he reassures him that its ok that its best for everyone and that its time to say good bye for now, not forever though. Then oh God how Astrid follows him, because she knows hes right too, she knows that they can no longer live with their dragons safely, and she takes off Stormflys saddle and says good bye to her best friend. THEN VALKA who has lived with the dragons for 20 years, she knows too and she doenst hesitate to let Cloudjumper go free, and it made so much sense to me that she was so willing to do so even after being together for 20 years, she has protected them for 20 years so there is no doubt in my mind that Valka would do this without a second though if it meant that was the best thing for her friend. THEN OMG EVERYONE ELSE FOLLOWS THAT JUST HURT SO MUCH. I mean ever single Berkian seens what Hiccup did, and everyone knows they have a special bond, I mean they all have a special bond with their dragons, but Hiccup and Toothless are different, they were the only pair that we know of that needed each other to fly, I mean sure the other vikings needed their dragons to fly but their dragons didnt need them to fly, toothless relied on hiccup to control his tail and that bond is so special. Anyway, I just thought that all the others saw Hiccup doing this, and hes their Chief the man who started the whole riding dragons for them, so I have no doubt in my mind that they would follow his lead, and again to me they see Hiccup and Toothless doing this letting go, so they must think “If these two can do it so can I”. I just really think it shows how much the vikings truly care for their dragon friends, when you love someone you want the best for them, you want them to be happy, even if that means you need to say goodbye. And thats what happened here the vikings loved their dragons so much that they were willing to say goodbye to their friends if it meant that they would be save, and the same goes in the other direction, the dragons are not dumb and I believe they knew that leaving is what was best too, that leaving meant that their viking friends would be safer. The love they all have for each other is so amazing. I only wish that the goodbye was long, I am so bad at goodbyes and omg I just wish they had a longer time to say goodbye, not only to their dragons but to the others as well, I mean toothless saying goodbye to Astrid and Stormfly too Hiccup? uG I SUCK AT GOOD BYWS OK I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO BE ABLE TO SAY GOOD BYE TO ALL THE DRAGONS.

But man i said to myself ‘you can do it dont cry’ didnt work, I sobbed, legit sobbed, and it wasnt my normal movie cry were its just tears, it was the kind where you can feel the pain in your chest from your heart beating to hard, from trying to hold back the chocked sobs so no one else would  get annoyed, although lets be real they are did the same thing so we all cried.  Seeing them all fly off, AND THE REVERSE HAND TOUCH I CANNOT, THAT REALLY HURT I JUST COULDNT TAKE IT THE PARALLELS REALLY KILLED ME THE ENTIR MOVIE. Then Toothlesses look back at Hiccup, and then the long shot and seeing the massive wave of dragons, and then seening toothless following from the back as he is the last to leave, the vikings looking on with sadness and fondness for their dragons, really did come for my heart.

NOW ONTO HAPPY TIMES. the Wedding, oh my god, how lucky can a girl be? I got to see the mother of all my OTPs get married, and dang they were beautiful, and they looked so happy, it just warmed my heart to know that these two dorks who truly have a special relationship finally got married. Then Gobber called them Chief and Chiefstriss and wow really hit me hard that these two were going to lead Berk together, because they are always there to support each other. THEN that kiss so cute, and how Hiccup goes to gently cup her face with his hands, just wow my otp is the best.

Then we again have love master Tuffnut who will take Snotlout as his new student, and FISHLEGS HAS A LITTLE BABY GRUNKLE STUFFED ANIMAL IN HIS BAG. aND RUFF being like “you win i love sensitive guys” Then we have Hiccup and Astrid looking out to the sea as their friends and family come together with them, and Astrid lays her head on his shoulder so great.

Now dang my boy HICCUP WITH A BEARD??? BEARDCUP IS REAL, and he is wearing his fur cap, and Astrid looking like a frickin QUEEN, and AGAIN HOW LUCKY CAN A GIRL BE I SEE A WEDDING AND I GET CHILDREN????? MY OTP HAS TWO CHILDREN???? AND THEY ARE GORGEOUS.

buT DANG when they saw Toothless through the fog and then the light fury and then the little baby heads pop up, and you can see how happy Hiccup is. But Toothless doenst immediatly recognize him, which makes sense because I mean 10 year for humans can change the looks drastically, and hiccup has a beard now so he doenst look like what toothless remembered, plus hes the alpha and must protect his family. Astrid protecting her children like a frickin badass mom, and Zephry hidding behind her mom and Nuffink going into her chest? Ug love it, they trust their mom to protec them, and I love this to because it really shows that they are children, I mean I have no doubt that Astrid and Hiccup are going to raise them to be brave, I mean its Hiccup and Astrid, but they are still children and well they have grown in a world without dragons, different than their parents, we know at that age Astrid was fearless, I mean she wanted to fight a flightmare, but now the world has changed and they arent at war and they can raise their kids as kids, and I love that they showed that fear in the children it just gave a sense of realism to me. 

Then HIccup DID THE THING with the hand and Toothless finally was like “WAIT THIS IS MY HUMAN” and his eyes went big and omg how he attacked him with kisses and licks. Then Astrids laugh to see them reunite, and them urging their kids that it was ok, and remember before when I said they would raise brave kids? Well this little cuties were afraid, but they still listened and trusted their parents, and omg Zephry was so stiff from fear and her face, and Nuffink was hiding his face, but Hiccup came and showed them how to approach Toothless, and wow here we go again with the hand touch and HIccup telling them to let him come to them, and Toothless did the thing AND OMG THEIR REACTION WAS SO CUTE. The way Zephry cocked her head and smiled, and how Nuffink dropped his hand from his face and his mouth widened in awe of his dragon. 

THEN I GET TO SEE HICCUP WITH HIS SON RIDING TOOHTLESS? AND HIS SOON IS JUST MAKING THE CUTEST LITTLE WAVING MOTIONS WITH HIS HANDS. And hiccup throwing his kid in the air as he giggles in delight, and I swear I heard him say “Dada” and it killed me. Then Astrid being Astrid flys right passed them ON STORMFLY, like thank you for not forgetting about my girl, because she loves Stormfly and Stormfly loves her and seeing Astrid ride her with her daughter just made the scene even better. They could have easily forgotten about my girl, but they didnt, they didnt do her dirty, I may not have gotten to see the moment when she and Stormfly met again, BUT I SAW THEY RIDING TOGETHER AND THATS GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME.

Oh yea bonus points for seeing the light fury and the babies flying with them. Then Hiccup just flys upside down dropping Nuffink on Astrids head, and ug the way he just casually clings to his mother, then I was like wow I hope Zephry gets to ride Toothless with he father, AND THEN HE PULLED UP NEXT TO THEM AND HELD OUT HIS HAND TO DO JUST THAT, dreamworks you really came through for me, thank you so much for allowing Dead and all the other hard workers of this franchise make this amazing world for us. It tore my heart apart, but I loved every second of it, and I have no regrets, it was honestly a great ending,no matter how badly it hurt and how badly I wanted them to live together forever, it was just the perfect ending with a great lesson about letting go and moving on, becoming your own person, and being happy with the memories you had, because being able to say you loved something or someone and letting them go is better than never loving them at all, thats what happend to the vikings and dragons, and thats what happened to me personally at the end of it all. I cant wait to relive the magic and watch all the movies again. 

oh how could I forget? The end credits, you thought the pain ended with the end of the movie nope the credits are going to give you every major scene from each movie, reminding us where we started and where we have come to, and that was just the cherry on top of it all. 

Also side note a girl sat behind me and she goes “is that a toothless plushie?” and yes it was so she asked to see it so i handed him to her and we started talking about the movie, she was able to see it during an early release boo i had work. Anyway she asks me how old i was when the first came out, and I said 16, she seemed shook and i asked her the same, she said she was 5, so if math does me right she would be about 14/15. I was older than she is currently is when the first movie came out, thats wild. Then i laughed off the age difference saying “you would never know ill be 25 in a week”, and her (i assume) mom said I looked young haha. But because of the age difference I gave her some good life advice, I told her not to care about what others think of you, Im almost 25 crying over a dragon movie that means the world to me as i sit with my dragon plushie, and her mom just agreed with me and told her to listen to me because I knew what I was saying haha. Shout out to this girl too because shes the one who told me that Hiccup and Astrids’s kids had cannon names, I had been avoiding everything I could about this movie so I was glad to be up to date on that.

Wow this took me like 2 hours to write i think? I mean yea it was mostly for me to read later in life so I can remember this day, all the photos i took before hand, and all the excitement I had, wow Hi future me! Sorry about all the grammar mistakes but Im just typing as the thoughts come, hope I didnt break your heart again as you read all this. Until next time

[unfortunate-stranger-losers]

Six Baudelaires AU, Part One {AO3} {Read from the Beginning}

Chapter Nine → in which Violet has a Plan

Violet and Klaus looked at each other for only a moment, before nodding and splitting in different directions. Violet ran towards Nick, hugging him close, while Klaus did the same for Lilac.

“It’s okay.” Klaus said quietly. “We’ll figure this out. We’ll figure it out.”

Lilac sobbed, “We won’t. We failed, Klaus.”

“No, no, there’s always something, Li. You say there’s always something.”

“Not this time! What can we do?”

“We’ll do something, I…” Klaus glanced over at Violet, and his eyes widened. “What happened to your arm?”

Violet flinched, glancing at her bandaged shoulder, pulling away slightly from Nick. “It’s fine, just-”

“Did they hurt you?”

“No! No, it was the grappling hook. It fell- it’s fine.”

“It’s not fine!” Lilac said. “None of this is fine!”

Violet gave Nick another quick hug, and then she moved over to Lilac. “Li, come on. We need to do something. Klaus, Nick, your books are over there. Can you read more on Inheritance Law? See if there’s a loophole?”

“We- we can try.” Klaus said. “Nick?”

Nick hugged himself, looking towards the window; outside, Soli had indeed figured out that she couldn’t move around much without risking the cage falling, so she had just curled up, sobbing. Sunny was leaning against her, trying to comfort her as best she could while tied up. Watching this, Nick looked like his heart was splitting in half.

“Nick?” Klaus repeated.

“I…” Nick stuttered, staring out the window. “I… I can read, yeah, I can…” He started to shake again, hugging himself tight. “I just…”

“We can try to invent something to get us out of here.” Violet said. “Maybe we can climb down the tower with something else.”

“I don’t see anything you could make a rope with.” Klaus said quietly.

“We’ll figure something out.” Violet said. “Right, Li? We’ll figure it out.”

“We won’t.” Lilac said, still sobbing softly, pulling away from her siblings. “I’m sorry. I- I’m sorry, I failed and…”

“You haven’t failed yet.” Violet said sternly, reaching forwards and grabbing her sister’s hands. “We still have a few hours left, and we’re not letting him hurt you.”

“I’m not letting him hurt you!” Lilac said, looking at Violet, tears streaming down her face. Violet flinched slightly, as her sister continued, “Violet, if we fail again, he’s- I’m not letting anything happen to you.”

“You think he’s not going to hurt me if you just go along with his plan?” Violet’s voice shook slightly. “Li, you think he’s just gonna let the rest of us live? You think he won’t hurt us if we play nice?”

“If we fail-”

“We won’t.” Violet gripped tighter onto her sister’s hands, and she stared her in the eyes. “You’re Lilac goddamn Baudelaire, and you are not giving up here.”

Lilac choked back more tears, staring at the ground. “What the hell are we supposed to do?”

“We’ll figure it out.” Violet said quietly. “Okay? We’ll figure it out. And we have a job to do. Klaus, Nick, get to work. Li, help me take inventory of what’s in here.”

She stood up, going to the window and reaching out a hand, managing to touch the edge of the cage. Soli and Sunny stared at her, both teary-eyed. “It’s okay, girls.” she said quietly. “We’re not going to let anything happen to you. Just try not to shake the cage much, okay? Stay together.”

“Mmmth.” Sunny said, her voice muffled by the tape, meaning to say, “Where else are we supposed to go?”

Violet smiled slightly, and she turned, seeing that Lilac had managed to get to her feet. Nick stood, too, turning to the window. He reached out, too, saying shakily, “Soli, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I… I should’ve protected you, I-”

“It’s not your fault, Nick!” Violet said, and Soli nodded towards Violet, before looking back to her brother. “It’s not your fault. But we have to get to work, okay?”

Nick glanced towards Soli, still crying a little. Then he nodded, and the siblings split off.

For the next several hours, Nick and Klaus poured over their books, trying to find something, anything, that might help them. Lilac and Violet went around the room, trying to find something that might help them escape the tower. Neither group managed to find much, and as the hours ticked on, they got more and more nervous. They took shifts sitting by the window, talking to the toddlers in the cage, promising them that they were going to be okay, that everything was going to be alright.

“Olaf must be coming back soon.” Nick said after a while, glancing at the sun, which was sinking into the afternoon. “Does anyone have anything?”

“There’s nothing that’ll work to annul the marriage.” Klaus said glumly.

“There’s lots of matches here,” Violet said, “For the candles. If we had kerosine, we could make a molotov cocktail.”

“We don’t have kerosine.” Lilac said, sounding like she was only half-there.

“How soon would Lilac be able to divorce him?” Nick asked. “Maybe she could just do that as soon as Sunny’s safe.”

“Divorce has very difficult legal proceedings.” Klaus said. “We probably wouldn’t have enough time.”

“What are the requirements for marriage, again?” Violet asked, almost hopelessly. “There has to be some kind of loophole.”

“Lilac needs to say ‘I do’, sign the document in her own hand, and be in the presence of a judge.” Klaus recited.

“Maybe we could convince Justice Strauss to leave.” Violet said. “Wait, no, Olaf wouldn’t let us give her the chance, and what would we say? If we explained, she might not believe us. Maybe Lilac could say ‘I don’t’?”

“Then he’d just have Soli and Sunny dropped.” Lilac said, looking at her shivering sisters out the window.

Violet tugged on her ribbon. “There’s gotta be something.”

“God, we should’ve just murdered Olaf on day one.” Nick said. “Just all dogpiled on him and punched him til he stopped moving, and then claim we don’t know what happened.”

“That would’ve been a bad plan, for multiple reasons.” Klaus sighed.

Violet bit her lip, and then said, “Even if we can get Lilac out of it, Olaf might threaten Sunny and Soli again- or you two.” she looked towards the twins.

“Once we get Lilac out,” Nick said, “We’ll all be safe, Mr Poe will have to believe us.”

“Violet’s right.” Lilac sighed, using a phrase she rarely said. She moved over to her brothers and continued, “Even if things go right, he’ll still try and hurt you. You two need to go somewhere safe until this all blows over.”

“We won’t be able to do that, any more than you’ll be able to get out.” Klaus said.

“Maybe you could.” Violet said sadly. “He wants you in the final scene, but I can guarantee there’ll be other actors onstage. If there’s a big enough crowd, you could sneak out the back, and hide somewhere until it’s all over.”

“We’re not leaving you.” Nick said.

Violet considered. “You should sneak out at the end, and come back here. Make sure he’ll keep his word and actually save Soli and Sunny.”

“What if he doesn’t?” Klaus asked. “What if we have to- what if we can’t-”

“It’s better than doing nothing.” Nick admitted, looking over towards the window. “But what about you? He wants you next to Lilac. He’ll notice if you’re gone.”

“I’ll just have to take my chances.” Violet said, trying to look brave, reaching her right hand up to pull her ribbon out of her hair.

“Violet-” Klaus began.

“Wait.” Violet stopped, just as she pulled out her ribbon. She stared down it, thinking hard.

“Violet?” Lilac asked. “Are you okay?”

Violet surprised them all by smiling, her face lighting up. “I have an idea.” she said. “Lilac-”

They heard a slam, and they all jumped, looking up as Count Olaf once again entered, followed by the man with hooks for hands.

“It’s showtime, orphans.” he said, and Lilac stared hard at the ground, trying to hide her trembling. Violet put a hand over hers, her and Nick both glaring at their guardian as Klaus hastily kicked the books aside. “My associate will stay in this room with your sisters, and should anything go wrong during tonight’s performance, your sisters will be dropped to their death. Come along now.”

Violet bit her lip, stuffing her ribbon into her pocket, glancing at the window before grabbing Lilac’s left arm, tugging it slightly as they walked. Lilac simply stared at her, confused, but Violet couldn’t dare say anything aloud as they walked down the stairs, and out the door, and down the block to the theater; it wasn’t as far from their house as they thought, which they supposed was good; should they need to get Sunny and Soli quickly, it wouldn’t take long.

Backstage at The Marvelous Marriage was incredibly busy. The Baudelaires were left alone for a few moments, watching several actors, stagehands and members of the troupe rush around the stage, pushing props aside, throwing costumes on and whispering instructions to each other. Loud music was playing several feet away, and the Baudelaires assumed that meant the show had already begun. After a few minutes, a stagehand ushered a very distressed Nick and Klaus away for their costumes, and the two White-Faced Women took Lilac and Violet into a brightly-lit dressing room, filled with actors chatting and changing costumes. Lilac had her dress pulled off, and found herself shoved into a lacy white wedding dress, her hair pulled out of its braids and a flower crown shoved on, while Violet found herself in a frilly gown that was too puffy for her liking.

“Lilac-” Violet began, but she wasn’t sure what to say while surrounded by people who may-or-may-not be helping Olaf. She glanced to the side, and saw Justice Strauss, sitting in a chair with a large law book. “Justice Strauss!” she called, and the woman looked up, smiling upon seeing the two girls.

“Hello, Baudelaires!” she said, walking over as Lilac had a sash tied around her waist. “You children look wonderful!”

“So do you.” Violet said, forcing a smile on her face, trying to look calm. “May I see that book?”

“Only for a little while,” Justice Strauss said, handing over the book to her. “Count Olaf told me to bring a law book and read a real wedding ceremony, to make the play as realistic as possible.”

“You know,” Lilac said, watching as the White-Faced Women stepped away from them a moment to help an actress remove a stuck jacket, “It would be very entertaining if you changed some of the words.”

“Yeah, improv a bit.” Violet said. “It’s not… it’s not like it’s a real wedding.”

Justice Strauss frowned. “I don’t know, children. I think it would be best to follow Count Olaf’s instructions, he knows much more about theater. Where are your brothers?”

“Other dressing room, I assume.” Lilac said sadly.

“That reminds me, could you tell Klaus that I may have found something interesting, about his mysterious object, I believe it may be-”

“Justice Strauss!” called a voice, and a woman came up. “You’re to report to the makeup artist.”

“Oh, I get to wear makeup!” Justice Strauss said excitedly. “I’ll see you onstage, my dears!”

Violet sighed and handed her back the book, and as she left, Lilac said, “Maybe we could pretend to be sick. Do you know how to make someone throw up?”

“Lilac, I have an idea.” Violet said. “You have to sign the document in your own hand.”

“Yes, Violet, I’m aware.”

“In your own hand.” Violet said, glancing around to see if anyone was listening.

“Yes?”

“We may have a loophole.” Violet said. “Don’t use your own hand.”

Lilac stared at her. “How the hell else am I supposed to sign it?”

Before Violet could answer, one of the White-Faced Women ran up to her and dragged her back out the door, the other shepherding Lilac in the same direction. The two girls were placed in a spot on stage as the curtain fell for the next scene transition.

After a moment, they spotted Nick and Klaus in the crowd of people, dressed in some ridiculous sailor suits. If it wasn’t such a stressful situation, the girls might find that sight a bit funny. The twins spotted them, and they stared a moment, before Violet nodded, gesturing towards the backdoor. And when Nick pulled Klaus into the crowd, the two boys disappearing from sight, Lilac sighed, “At least they’ve got a chance.”

“We do, too.” Violet whispered. They were surrounded by people, so she couldn’t say much, but she grabbed her sister’s left hand, squeezing it and saying, “Just sign it.”

“I don’t…” Lilac began, and then she glanced down at her hand, and then back up at Violet, the gears in her head turning slightly.

“You have to sign it in your own hand.” Violet repeated.

Lilac glanced up at her, finally clicking.

“That won’t work.”

“Do you have any other ideas?”

Lilac shook her head, and then, as the curtains started to rise, she admitted, “Vi, I’m scared.”

“It’s okay.” Violet said, letting go of her left hand and grabbing onto her right. “I am, too. But you can do this.”

The curtains opened, and the final act of the play began.

“What do we do?” Klaus asked, trembling in the cold air.

Nick threw off the stupid jacket, ignoring the chill that hit him. “We do what Lilac and Violet said. We go back to the house, and we find a way to get Soli and Sunny back.”

“And how are we supposed to do that?” Klaus asked. “We’re fucked if we get caught. Hell, Olaf might notice we’re gone and come get us right now.”

“Then we better get moving.” Nick said. “I saw the troupe member Violet said was guarding the stairs in the crowd, so we might be able to get up that way. We won’t have to climb the tower.”

“Good, cause I can’t climb for shit.” Klaus said, wiping his face with his sleeve.

“We wouldn’t do as good as Lilac or Violet anyway.” Nick shrugged. “If we had to make something.”

“What about the hook-handed man?” Klaus asked. “He’s guarding the room.”

“We’ll figure it out.” Nick said. “Come on.”

Klaus nodded, grabbing his brother’s hand. “Nick?”

“Yeah?”

“We’re going to be okay, right?”

“Lilac and Violet will think of something.” Nick nodded. “They always do.”

“I know. But are we gonna figure something out?”

“Course we will. Now,” Nick turned towards the direction of the house, narrowing his eyes. “Let’s get our sisters back.”

The third act went on for a very long time, and Violet was somehow getting both nervous and bored. She gripped tight onto her sister’s hand whenever Olaf began another monologue, scanning the audience. She could barely see any faces, but if she squinted and moved her hand over her eyes, she could make out a few. She saw Mr Poe a few rows back, watching intently with his wife- shit, yeah, she was a reporter, of course she’d be here… although Violet didn’t think she was a theater reporter, but then again, she seemed to love writing whatever she wanted.

An adult pulled her arm down, whispering something about not looking into the audience, and Violet pulled away sharply, almost leaning into Lilac, who was staring down at her hand and shaking. She kept reaching up to push her hair back, annoyed at it being down and falling over her shoulders.

When Justice Strauss finally made her way centerstage, one of the White-Faced Women pushed Lilac forwards, and Lilac stumbled across the stage, almost tripping over her dress, followed by Violet, who was once again staring into the audience so she didn’t have to look at what was happening onstage. Lilac and Olaf stopped in the middle of stage, and Lilac desperately tried to be brave.

Justice Strauss began her speech, and Lilac stared at the wall, gripping onto Violet’s hand. It seemed to go on forever, and all Lilac could think was please don’t let Olaf notice that Nick and Klaus are gone, please don’t let him tell the hook-handed man to drop Soli and Sunny, and please, please, let this work. Let this work.

“Do you,” Justice Strauss said, “Take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do.” Count Olaf said, smiling. Violet felt Lilac shudder beside her.

“Do you,” Justice Strauss turned to Lilac, who hesitantly let go of Violet’s hand, and Violet stepped back, shutting her eyes tight, “Take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

Lilac hesitated a moment, her throat feeling clogged up. Then she choked out, “I do.”

Justice Strauss took the document from one of the other actors, placing it onto a small table. Olaf signed it first, taking a long quill pen from the table and writing quickly.

And, slowly, Lilac reached out her left hand, and wrote her name beside his.