#I’m glad we’re back to top tier main couples

[glittter-skeleton]

I love how into that nerd she is

[snkpolls]

SnK Episode 67 Poll Results (for Manga Readers)

The poll closed with 254 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results for the Manga Readers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll, click here.

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RATE THE EPISODE 246 Responses

The response to this week’s episode remains overwhelmingly positive, with 97.6% of responses giving it a score of 3 or higher. 

This is the first episode where I have absolutely no criticisms, so im quite happy with how it turned out.

Voice acting was top tier

perfect

Emotional 

Great Job! I'm glad my favorite character's death was so emotionally misered.

Forget Attack on Titans, this episode was Attack on my Feelings ! 😭

I want to rate it a 1 because of Sasha but a 5 because of how well it was done... so 1.5

Absolutely loved it

Perfect

ASIDE FROM SASHA’S DEATH, WHICH MOMENT WAS THE MOST EMOTIONAL FOR YOU? 247 Responses

Connie’s heartfelt admission to Jean seems to have stolen the hearts of the plurality of responders (36%). That is followed by a tie of 18.2% responses noting Eren’s breakdown or EMA’S tense reunion as the most emotional moment for them. In third place is Gabi’s tragic declaration about her struggles with 11.3%. Other responses were, in order, Jean lamenting all of the deaths occurring, Gabi and Falco realizing that Zeke betrayed them, Hange scolding Eren for forcing the SC to intervene in Marley and Levi and Eren’s confrontation.

Connie telling Sasha and Jean that they're special to him made my heart hurt knowing what was going to happen mere minutes after. I honestly saw me and my two best friends through them, and it was gut wrenching seeing Connie and Jean's reactions. Even Mikasa's reaction broke me, to be honest. They all lost a huge light in their lives.

WHICH MOMENT SURPRISED YOU THE MOST? 222 Responses

So this question was meant to only go on the anime watchers poll and ended up here somehow. Thanks to the 222 who were good sports and responded anyway! :P The most shocking moments that took place in this chapter/episode was the revelation that Eren went rogue from the Survey Corps, that Zeke was collaborating with the Survey Corps, how the Survey Corps treated Eren, and that some Paradisians seemed to be turning to nationalism, in that order. 

Not sure why we're being asked as manga readers which moment shocked us the most since we already knew everything that was going to happen this week

HOW MUCH DID SASHA’S DEATH HURT YOU? 249 Responses

When it came to Sasha’s death, it would appear that it broke the hearts of the overwhelming majority of responders, with 81.1% giving it a rating of either 4 or 5 on the tragic scale. 

Broke my heart and I'm still crying over it three days later. Honestly though, it was greatly done. 

3 years later it hit me, Sasha is dead ;_;

Cried my whole soul and body. Rip sweet Sasha

I thought Sasha's death would've been more emotional.

WHOSE REACTION TO SASHA’S DEATH AFFECTED YOU THE MOST? 250 Responses

Sasha’s death elicited various reactions from the main cast. Two different responses tied at 36.4% noting Connie and Mikasa’s reactions to Sasha's death as the one affecting them the most. This was followed by Eren’s at 13.2%. The rest were, in order, Armin, Jean, Levi and Hange. 

I don’t cry at fiction much, but Sasha’s death got me more than I thought it would. I feel like seeing Armin and Mikasa’s reactions in particular is what got me.

The way they animated Armin and Mikasa bawling over Sasha's body and the inclusion of Call Your Name made it all the more emotional. I think by "Assassin's Bullet" they also meant a bullet through my heart because man did that hurt to watch. 😭🤧

WOULD YOU PISS YOUR PANTS IF LEVI WAS GLARING AT YOU WITH MURDEROUS INTENT? 248 Responses

A bit of a joke question, but we wanted to know if Levi appeared as threatening as he seemed. 80.2% seems to think so, admitting their incentive to piss their pants. In contrast, 19.8% don’t think the Captain’s such a scary guy!

THE FULL VERSION OF “ASHES ON THE FIRE” BY KOHTA YAMAMOTO (THE PREVIEW SONG) IS NOW OUT. IF YOU’VE LISTENED TO IT, WHAT DO YOU THINK? 236 Responses

“Ashes on the Fire” has been released to rave reviews, with 88.1% of responses giving it a 4 or a 5. Nobody gave it a 1, either. Yamamoto-san, thank you!

OVERALL, HOW WELL DO YOU THINK MAPPA ADAPTED THE MARLEY ARC? 251 Responses

In spite of the relatively vocal complaints about the adaptation of certain elements of the Marley Arc, it would appear that the overwhelming majority of responders seemed pleased with it, with 51.4% giving it 5 and 37.1% giving it a 4. 1s not present. 

I've been a bit bothered how Mappa follows the Manga like a slave, using the panels as scenes and not adding anything in between. Sure it works for Manga, but it feels weird to me to watch in Anime how Eren grabs Armins hand and they don't give a transition where Armin pulls him in, but just show him inside the airship next. Just little things, but bothers me a bit. Overall I'm really enjoying their choices.

The show looks BETTER

I was fine with the episode. The quality of animation dropped but I understand that every scene cannot be animated on highest level. MAPPA has done a great job with the Marley arc. They shown the character development and bonds between the warriors perfectly. We had some cuts here and there but overally was okay: 8/10 for me. 

I’m so pleased that MAPPA has taken the anime. I’m still more of a fan of this particular series’ manga than anime though.

DID SASHA’S DEATH AFFECT YOU MORE WHEN YOU READ THE MANGA, OR SEEING IT ANIMATED WITH VOICES AND MUSIC? 249 Responses

As noted above, Sasha’s death seemed to be a hard hitter for most. Comparison of the adaptation vs the original allows to discern which hit the readers/watchers the hardest. Just one percent shy of a majority (49%) thought that the anime made it much more tragic. 30.9% noted that the impact was roughly similar across both mediums. On the flip side, 10.4% thought that the initial depiction of it in the manga was the hardest hitter. There were also a couple of write-ins. 

I dont remember I sped run reading the manga, kinda regretting it

I knew it for the first time in the manga, so it had a more powerful impact (I cried for a whole week. Not kidding) and the anime managed to make me cry as hard as in the manga. Though, I already was aware and grieved so it wasn't as bad

Got Spoiled :( so kinda meh, saw it coming

When the music kicked in after Connie announced she was gone, my heart broke into a million pieces. 

Let's be honest, Sasha's role was over after she killed the titan in the village and saved Kaya. After that she was just there. She got zero development, zero important moments, zero depth. Her death effected many characters and helped them to develop. Sasha's death was sad but at least brought some important changes in others. 

Not a Sasha fan so I was not really that affected but having a death in the series always feels sour

I think for me, they're both even.....mostly. There's just something about having been waiting for the chapter leaks on reddit with a bunch of other people and most of us collectively grieving at the same time. Once bigger pages of the chapter started coming out, it made me cry. I didn't even cry during serumbowl when I first read it and that had plenty for me to be even more upset about.

Honestly while reading manga I hated that Sasha’s last word was „meat”, it seemed so ridiculous. I’m happy MAPPA made it look more serious with music. Actually everyone’s reaction for Sasha’s death had more impact on me than the death itself

HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU SAW GABI KILL SASHA IN THE MANGA? AND HOW DO YOU FEEL SEEING IT AGAIN NOW, KNOWING HOW GABI’S ARC DEVELOPS? 247 Responses

Gabi is perhaps the most controversial character introduced post-time skip. Whether you’re a proud member of the Gabi Gang, proud hater of the 12 year old or just a neural party, everyone can admit that. With Sasha’s death at her hands, many seemed to offer up their opinion on the kid, back then and now. A slight plurality, 31.2%, stated that they did not hate her back when 105 first released and they don’t hate her now. 23.1% note that although they were rather upset with her back down, they are not (upset/angry) any longer. On the flipside, 25.5% state that they still hate the kid, as they did back then. Finally, some were simply neutral. Classic. 

Quite a few write-ins, as well.

I hated her in the manga but after watching the anime, I’m not happy about it but I understand why she did what she did and don’t hate her as much anymore.

I was extremely upset about it before and am still extremely upset about it now, but for different reasons. I hate her less but am not any less annoyed by her brainwashed hatred of the Paradisians, although I understand her much better and realize and empathize that she's just a kid who's been used by her country in the worst way.

Gabi Braun Must Die

Broke my heart and was upset, but understood where she was coming from (thought about her perspective only)

Sasha shoulda killed this cunt while she had the chance

It’s war, she did as she needed to.  Her arc is fantastic 

love hate relationship 

I didn't like her but not because of Sasha death (that's war consequence) and it's the same now

I really hated her with my whole heart and soul, but now that it has been all explained, that she had character development, I even like her now

I used to be angry about it but I understand why now, Gabi is just a victim of Marley’s control just like anyone else is, it’s a shame this is the results of it. She’s still at fault but I can’t hate her so much for it

I feel tired of Gabi hate. I disliked her in the manga back then but now I feel neutral towards her, because she has changed. Yet, I wish she took less screentime. 

SORRY for ranting! I don't understand the hate on Gabe. Yes, I know she killed a Paradise character which was present in series since its beginning and I understand Sasha's fans are upset Sasha is not here anymore because of her. but those people do not analyse Gabe as they should be. Every character belongs to a different side and each side is blinded by what heir belives in. It is okay to not like Gabe but I don't tolerate hate on her. I THINK THIS QUESTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN INCLUDED AT ALL.

Initial hate, understanding after some thought

Understanding her situation I know I shouldn’t hate her, but I’m choosing to be petty and hate her anyway 

I liked her much more than I like her now. She was a much better character back then, her killing Sasha (a one-note comedic relief) was cool and brought some spice to the story. Now she just exists to spout themes and convenient exposition and to be an aimbot

i dislike her, even if i understand her

I dont like Gabi. Never did. It isnt because she killed Sasha tho. I just dont care for Gabi tbh BUT i can totally understand her actions and do not blame her for it after seeing the destruction and killings

I was and still am upset about Sasha's death, but from the start I blamed it more on the circumstances than Gabi.

I loved her then, I love her now and it probably wouldn’t change even if she killed my favourite characters. She’s my cinnamon roll

Gabi did nothing wrong, killing a soldier in the battlefield is not a crime.

See, I WANT to like Gabi since she's obviously changed, but knowing she killed Sasha nonetheless will ALWAYS prevent me from having any love or respect for her. She will always be my most hated character

MAPPA ADDED AN EXTENDED SCENE OF FLOCH AND OTHER SURVEY CORPS RECRUITS BEATING GABI AND FALCO. HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT IT? 240 Responses

MAPPA added an extra scene of Floch and Friends raining down copious amounts of gratuitous violence upon two 12 year olds (MAPPA is pro-child violence???????? Find out when 111 is adapted). 48.8% seemed to think that it was a decent addition, even if just for the SC’s characterization (or perhaps you enjoyed seeing that?). 22.5% thought it was a bit over the top to feature. Finally, 16.7% did not care. 

I didn't like it. But, it was def a believable reaction from them.

I just wish it was enough to kill her

I liked the additional characterization of Floch & co.

Great addition, it was implied in the manga so the scene fitted well. Still, it was horrifying to see how vile the scouts were to two kids

How about an option where we're glad Gabi got beaten to a pulp but not when Falco was?

ORA ORA thing, but we viewers get hurt too. 

Didn't feel bad about Gabi getting beat up, but I did feel bad seeing Falco get beat up. Poor boy didn't deserve that

A nice addition 

I thought it was a great choice to highlight the continuing violence and feelings of vengeance from both sides even more. and I thought it contrasted really well with Jean's decision not to throw the kids out of the airship.

The people glorifying this scene annoy the shit out of me

It's a good way to hint the "Yaegerist" perspective to anime onlies

MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA

The Gold Experience memes are funny

It was an IC scene for people like Floch + I feel bad for the kids

The way they shot that scene made the recruits seem like mindless, gross-faced animals storming towards the kids to beat them up. I liked how they were dehumanised like that, considering that most faces amongst them belonged to the ones who support the rumbling. 

It hurt to see that but good scene though

Feel empathy for Gaby. Violence don't solve problems

Now THAT'S what I call fan service! Who needs big-boobed, big-ass females or shirtless guys with and when you can just have the most hated character get the tar beaten out of them xD

I can see why they did it. MAPPA's not dumb and I'm sure they anticipated a massive onslaught on hate towards Gabi specifically, so it was their way of trying to satisfy the haters. Falco didn't deserve it tho.

It was a good addition

GREAT JOB MAPPA

I hate Gabi too but that was too much beating up a child, yet it also showed how shit Floch and the others are.

Apparently some people never noticed that Gabi and Falco got beat up, probably because it happened in the background. So it was good for MAPPA to call attention to it.

I love Gabi but she had that coming. No need to hurt Falco though. :(

OVERALL, HOW WELL DO YOU FEEL MAPPA EXECUTED THE REVEAL THAT ZEKE IS A TRAITOR TO MARLEY? 240 Responses

The reveal that ZOOK has been working against Marley for years on end is one of the most important ones in the series, really. So it was important to have it be executed in a rather decent manner. The vast majority of the fandom thought that MAPPA did a fine job. 52.1% gave it a rating of 4, 27.5% gave it a 5 and 17.1% gave it a 3. The couple of the other respnders gave it a 2, with no 1s.

IN THE END, DO YOU THINK EREN’S ACTIONS IN MARLEY WERE ULTIMATELY JUSTIFIED? 242 Responses

A question to remember… Were Eren’s actions in Marley ultimately “justified”? A plurality, 44.6% seems to think so. In contrast, 24% disagree. And 31.4% still aren’t sure to this day.

SIMILARLY, DO YOU THINK THE SURVEY CORPS WAS ULTIMATELY JUSTIFIED IN TREATING EREN AS THEY DID? 244 Responses

When it comes to the SC treating Eren as they did, the division is much less pronounced however. The majority, 60.7%, think that the SC had quite the justification for treating Eren as they did. On the flip side, 19.7% think that there was such justification for behaving in such a manner towards Eren. Finally, the same amount of responses stated that still can’t be sure to this day.

NOW THAT WE’VE GOTTEN A CLEAR SHOT OF YELENA, DID MAPPA DO HER JUSTICE? 243 Responses

YELENA is here. Queen 👑. Or well, maybe not. Who am I to say? In any case, her appearance was received well. 52.7% thought MAPPA did very well and 33.7% went on to declare their love for her. Just shy of 10% noted that MAPPA could have done a little better though. 

Kinda wish her hair was like neon or something idk

Need more eps of her to decide, she didn't get much screentime and lines here. 

I don't like Yelena, but yeah I guess they did good.

In the manga she was a creepy-looking person. MAPPA made her unique, interesting and mysterious. I love her voice and her stoic, relaxed self. MAPPA did a good job.  

QUEEN!!!!!

Great adaptation but I still don't like her as a character

Don’t care about her 

don't really care

I hate her and I don't care about her.

WHICH SCENE FROM THE PREVIEW ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? 247 Responses

Such a colorful chart for this one. It would appear that slightly over a quarter look most forward to seeing Crykasa at Sasha’s grace. Slightly less (21.9%) want to see Sasha enjoying Niccolo’s cuisine. In third place is the scene with Connie, Jean, Mikasa and Niccolo at Sasha’s grace. The rest are, in order from most to least, Onyankopon and Yelena teaching the Survey Corps about the Port, EMA talking at the shooting range and Hange and Armin learning about Marley’s technology.

HOW HYPED ARE YOU FOR THE UPCOMING TIMESKIP FLASHBACKS? 239 Responses

The time skip flashbacks seem to be a hit. A little over 51% are super stoked about seeing them animated. Slightly under 24% state that they’ll enjoy them, but are looking forward to other things more. In contrast, 22.6% are ready to go crazy (from a positive standpoint)! Wooo! 

Enjoying AND dreading it at the same time

I just want the centipede

Boring. The only thing what interests me is Historia teasing Mikasa about her crush on Eren. The rest is too jolly. 

I'm looking forward to see Yelena's insane self be animated. That, and more Zeke.

THE MOST RECENT LIST OF FUTURE EPISODE TITLES SHOWS THAT EPISODE 12 WILL LIKELY END AROUND CHAPTERS 109-111, LEAVING CHAPTER 112 (EMA’S ARGUMENT) FOR EPISODE 13. EPISODE 67 WAS ALMOST ENTIRELY ADAPTED FROM CHAPTER 105, PROVING THAT ADAPTING DIALOGUE-HEAVY CHAPTERS FAITHFULLY CAN EASILY REQUIRE THE FULL 20 MINUTES. WITH ONLY 16 EPISODES - AND SO MANY WHICH ARE DIALOGUE-HEAVY - DO YOU THINK THINGS WILL END OFF WITH THE INITIATION OF THE RUMBLING (CH. 122), AS HAS BEEN SPECULATED BY MUCH OF THE FANDOM? 238 Responses

The manner in which the Season will end is a mystery to even the manga readers. Where will it end? Will it have many cuts? These are the questions. 36.6% seem to think that MAPPA will somehow manage to both end it at Chapter 122 and cut as little as possible. 26.5% don't believe ending on 122 is possible. 12.2% do believe MAPPA will end the Season on 122, but only with many notable cuts. Finally, just a little under 20% are simply not sure. There were a few write-ins as well. 

I hope not, too many cuts would be required 

The is no way they're making it up to 122, at first I thought they were going to finish it off with Eren's head getting blown off in 119, but now that seems like a reach too. Now I think MAPPA is probably going to end this first half of the season with Eren and Pieck's "where is the enemy?" and the warriors arriving to Shiganshina 

I’m not sure right now so I’ll have to see for later episodes for the cut-off point, if it isn’t the Rumbling then it’ll be when Gabi shoots Eren

MOVIE

I'm conflicted. I'm sure they'll end at rumbling because it's the only reasonable point to cut it, but I feel like they're running out of episodes. Then again I'm feeling the same about the state of Manga, there's just too little chapters left to end things up well.

I don't really want to think too much about it, I just want to enjoy the anime lol

I fully expect 119 to be the end

What was the point of rushing Reiner's chapters if you are going to slow down later. Goddamn it MAPPA. 

It'll really depend on the pacing for the next couple episodes, but I'm with a bulk of the fandom that see Chapter 119 Two Brothers being the end point for The Final Season. IF they were to skip the opening and maybe the ending, I can see them transitioning from Eren's head getting blown off immediately into his transformation and the beginning of the Rumbling. But even that is quite farfetched. 

I have no idea, I'm a little worried now. Wouldn't be the first time a lot of content gets cut but if they insist on reaching ch. 122, I just don't see how you do that without butchering a lot. If that happens, it would probably lessen my enjoyment of the season.

Yeah, I think it will have a lot of cuts, but I believe that it will get there because Ymir falling in the tree was in the trailer

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

It's amazing seeing how each week, something with SnK trends! ^^

It still baffles me just how much people insist on hating Gabi, especially when her arc has shown tremendous growth in the manga. Reiner was no better than her when he was a child and continued to insist that Paradisians are devils and chose to further destroy their lives even after sleeping under the same roof as the 104th for 3 whole years and forming personal bonds with them. Yet, his actions are forgivable but Gabi's are not? Both characters have shown remorse for their former beliefs and misdeeds against Paradisians. Both realized that they were in the wrong. The characters have forgiven Gabi. Why can't y'all do the same? People who want Gabi to suffer are no better than they accuse her of being. 

Well done episode which managed to capture the emotions of sasha's death perfectly

monke

I really appreciate Gabi as a character. She has spunk and a strong character arc in which she changes and grows more than anyone in the last 30 chapters of the manga, save maybe Mikasa (ignoring how Eren, Reiner, Armin and maybe a few others changed during the timeskip). It makes me sad seeing people wishing for her to die and praising Floch and the others for kicking her.

Gabi absolutely deserves the hate she gets

I absolutely love to see the anime-onlies mass hate of GabBitch, does my heart good xD

Boring ,too much Gabi she is annoying

Time to strap in: wild ride ahead!

Gabi Braun is the WORST character, her arc was poorly written and the moment she kills Sasha solidifies her rightful place as most hated character

No development has made me stop hating Gabi. The wound of Sasha's death will ALWAYS overshadow any crocodile tears Gabi may cry.

Kudos to Jean's and Connie's voice actors. Emotions were so raw and natural.

so good! they're really nailing down the emotional beats so far!

Dialogue-heavy but still amazing! Also the music was great

I didn't felt anything when Sasha died. Even the first time, in the manga. She hasn't enough personnality for me to care. Erwin and Bertolt's death were more saddening for me. Stop hating Gabi. She was in grief and she did what Marley brainwashed her to. And Sasha killed people right in front of her, so…

1 chapter was too little to be adapted for an episode, you could tell some scenes were stretched to fit the runtime

The music they chose for the scene of Sasha passing was also the same music they used when the Survey Corps first donned their capes and Eren found out Marco was dead... man, that song is gonna hit harder than ever now

It didn’t help with the overwhelming amount of hate Gabi is getting. I hope Mappa does her justice because she’s a great character but the Anime only seem to hate her because its a “funny” “popular” thing but it really isn’t... shows who really is paying attention to the story and the people who are watching it because it’s popular and trendy 

People who are hating on Gabi do not understand the themes portrayed in AoT

Pretty solid overall. Wonderful bits of animation such as the ODM bits and the solid character acting from Sasha going down, Mikasa and Armin is distress, personal highlight being Gabi's reload animation. Good ost choices, nice addition of Samuel and Daz to foreshadow their conflict later on in the story, and great work from Connie, Gabi and Eren's VAs.

Friendly reminder that just because we hate Gabi does NOT mean we don't "understand" the story or themes. We just don't care because Gabi is a bad character.

U mad at Gabi for what she did ? Did she kill Potato girl for no reason? Imgine a kid, at least 3 years younger than the 104th, made fighting on WARS and praised for it, brainwashed by Marley that Paradisians are devils, and these devils came in her home, killing her friends and this WOMAN killed in front of her eyes two people who tried to protect her. Don't be mad at Gabi. Grieve for Sasha, okay, but stop hating Gabi. You're the worst when you do it

Hey Gabiatans: as long as you're not threatening the VA or other RL p olle, it's PERFECTLY fine to hate Gabi. Period. We don't have to like her, and it's not like we don't "understand" her just because we hate her. I "understand" a lot of Germans were forcibly coerced into joining the Nazi regime, but I don't have to pity then for any consequences that came for them.

Leviiiiiii

I was surprised that Mikasa and Armin crying over Sasha had no voice over. I thought it was still effective but I'm not sure if I prefer it. Other than that, the character animation was amazing this episode. Gabi's hands as she reloaded the rifle and Armin crying were my favorites. Overall, everything was pretty perfect and I love it when a chapter gets adapted in full with basically no cuts. One of the best episodes in the series and a proper send off for Sasha.

Wonderfully done episode! They truly did Gabi and Falco's perspectives justice. Also, seeing Eren's expressions and reactions in animated format was clarifying and super well done, too!

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 227 Responses

Thanks again to everyone who participated! 

[duchessfics]

Fright Night

(https://clqrkkent.tumblr.com/post/179164121180/billie-dean-howard-medium-to-the-stars-in)

(https://yourghostcat.tumblr.com/post/179898885939/what-are-you-talking-about-you-cant-work)

Billie x Fem!Reader x Wilhemina

Warning(s): I don’t think anything??? There’s a haunted house, but it’s not that much

Summary: For Halloween night, you and your girlfriends go to a special haunted house experience. And while you like some scary things, you are glad you have your girlfriends with you to go through it.

Word Count: 3988

A/n: This is the last fall/halloween piece! I honestly can’t believe I wrote and published something for six weeks now. I will definitely be slowing down a little bit since the end of the semester is coming up for me. But I had a great time doing this and I hope you enjoyed each piece as well. This one is a little longer, but it is the idea that made me want to do this in the first place so I hope you like it!

Sentence Prompts from @forever-rogue (Here’s the link to the original post)

12. “I paid $50.00 for this haunted house. I better die.”

19.  “Let’s split up.” “Let’s not.”

30.  “No?? Of course I’m not scared…who gets scared of…floating objects or…um weird sounds? Not me, that’s for sure.”

46. “OH MY GOD SHUT UP THEY’RE GOING TO KILL US!”

52. “Mmm, I appreciated that little murmuring you did in my ear.” “….That wasn’t me.”

67. “Has that scarecrow always been out there?”

The parking lot is packed with both vehicles and people as Wilhemina slowly eases her way into a parking spot. Once she jams the shift into park, she groans, “Why are we doing this again?” Her complaint is followed by a group of teens yelling and laughing. 

You giggle and say, “It’s Halloween! We’ve got to celebrate somehow. And most of these people are going to the lower tier haunted houses, we’re going to the most exclusive one.” Her slender hand twists the keys, killing the engine as she grumbles, “I paid $50 dollars for this haunted house. I better die.” Then your other girlfriend chuckles from the passenger seat and soothes, “Oh Mina, darling. We’ll be back in the car before you know it. And you can count on us to protect you from all of the spooky monsters.” To end her sentence she presses a kiss to the red head’s rosy cheek making you giggle from the back. 

Wilhemina merely scoffs and retorts, “That’s never going to happen. If anything, you’ll both come to me for protection.” Then she steps out of the car, shutting the door with a purpose. You and Billie follow, and the blonde comes around, biting her bottom lip before she purrs, “Would that be that bad, sweetheart?” The only answer is an eye-roll and her grumbling, “Let’s just get this over with.” As you walk to the VIP entrance, you skip ahead of them, looking back with a mischievous smirk on your lips.

You make it up to the ticket booth first and explain that you’ve already purchased your tickets and tell him the name it should be under. By the time he confirms your purchase, you feel both of your girlfriends come up behind you. You look to them and give a small smile, grateful they are doing this for you. Then he says, “Before you head out, we need you to put any valuables and belongings in one of our lockers.” 

Immediately Wilhemina’s eyebrows nearly meet her hairline as she says, “Excuse me?” Oh boy. The man stiffens up and you try to ease the tension as you feel her stiffening and soften her growling tone by saying, “I think what she means is to ask about if something should happen while we are out there.” Adding an apologetic smile. 

The man relaxes a little and replies, “There are staff members throughout who have walkie talkies if something should happen. But we’ve never had anything happen.” From behind, you hear the red head humph, but the three of you drop off your phones and wallets in the locker. Then it automatically locks, and you walk out to a minibus where three other people sit. Billie sits beside you, hugging you close and placing a kiss on the top of your head as the driver begins the journey.

Your nerves collect as butterflies in your stomach and flutter faster as the driver takes you further into the woods. But everyone keeps pretty quiet, preparing for the challenge ahead. Finally, the bus slows to a stop just outside of a creepy abandoned house. 

They turn back to face you and say, “Each group will get a flashlight and a map to find your way out of the ghost town. However, three pieces of the map are hidden throughout the town so you will have to find all of those first. And just as a reminder the scare actors are allowed to follow or chase you around, but they are not allowed to touch you so please do not touch them.” Each person exits the vehicle and you take the flashlight while Wilhemina takes the map—or at least the small chunk of map you currently have. 

Before the driver gets back on the bus, they ask, “Any questions?” You all look to each other, but no one says anything, so they give you a smile and say, “Well good luck! You’ll need it.” Umm...what? Your brows furrow at his comment and you begin to wonder what actually lies ahead. Surely it’s not that intense you tell yourself. They can’t touch you, they were probably just being dramatic. The bus drives off leaving you in the dark with only the sound of crickets and light breeze blowing through the trees.

The other three people practically run in laughing and you hear a scream almost immediately making you stiffen up. Maybe this was a bad idea. Both of your girlfriends look to you and Billie asks, “You ok?” You nod and reply with a braveface, “Yeah.” But you bite your lip and say in a quieter tone, “But could I hold your hand please?” The medium gives you a reassuring smile and murmurs, “Of course, babygirl.” 

She takes the flashlight in one hand before holding out her other for you to take. You relax feeling her next to you and are glad to have her warmth radiating around you. Then Wilhemina follows behind as you and Billie begin to walk into the house and you take a deep breath, trying to keep your cool.

The first room you walk into is strung with spider webs and fishing lines hanging from the ceiling made to feel like you’re walking through the spider webs. Your body shivers at the feeling of them and just as you get through, someone jumps out making you jump and giggle into Billie’s arm with her chuckling as well. Well that wasn’t so bad.

The next room you enter is much gorier and there is a man who carries a chainsaw pacing around. As he revs it up and comes towards you, you giggle and snuggle into Billie. You’ve got this. This is going to be a piece of cake. The house continues, showcasing clowns, zombies, and what looks to be vampires. Finally, you walk out to the back porch of the house and see it overlooks a wild west-style ghost town.

There are a couple people who walk down the main dirt road, looking to their map for guidance, but the whole setting is eerily quiet, the main sound being the wind blowing through the town with an occasional scream. Wilhemina struts forward past you both and looks from the map to the street as she says, “Let’s split up.” 

Oh god. Has she seen any scary movie? You stiffen up at that idea and squeak, “Let’s not.” The red head turns back to face you and takes slow deliberate steps towards you as she murmurs, “If I recall correctly, this was your idea. Now don’t tell me you’re actually scared now, darling.” By now she stands close enough to feel her breath fan over your face, her dark lips curved into a smirk. 

You let out a sad attempt of a laugh and reply in a high-pitched tone, “No?? Of course I’m not scared… who gets scared of…floating objects or…umm weird sounds? Not me, that’s for sure.” And her eyes narrow in response. Even you aren’t impressed with your explanation. 

But before she can say anything, Billie says, “Mina let’s just stick together.” Then her fingers crawl up Wilhemina’s arm as she purrs, “Strength in numbers, right honey?” The woman in purple removes Billie’s hand from her arm before saying, “Well she can take the lead since she doesn’t seem to be scared.” And she hands over the map with an evil glint in her dark brown eyes. So it’s going to be like that? Challenge accepted. 

You clear your throat and try to confidently say, “Well it looks like the first place to go is the saloon which looks to be,” you pause, looking between the map and the terrain before pointing and continuing, “I think it’s the third building ahead.” Once you say that, you look to them to start walking, but Wilhemina gives you the flashlight and says, “Go ahead. We’ll follow our little fearless leader.” Immediately Billie says her name, but you jut out your chin and answer, “Fine.” And there is a little thrill that passes through you as you see the shocked expression within her darkened eyes. Then you begin to take confident strides towards your first destination.

However, as you step onto the creaky boardwalk in front of the saloon, you pause, feeling your confidence quickly slipping away. But you take a deep breath and slowly push the swinging doors open with them squeaking the whole time. So much for subtlety. 

Before you walk in, you turn on the flashlight and take small timid steps trying to get the lay of the land. Your girlfriends follow you in and you shine the light over to your left. But you let out a cry as a bloodied cowboy jumps out at you. Your hand covers your hammering heart and he bursts out the door with his laughter ringing out in the silence. That’s when you see both women stifling their laughter and you smile saying, “So much for the fearless leader thing.” 

Then you walk up to them and say, “You can take the lead. Actually please do.” Billie takes the flashlight once more in one hand and holds Wilhemina’s hand in the other, tugging her along before she can say no. Then the medium looks back to you and gives you a wink before saying, “I’ve got you babe.”

As you walk further into the saloon, someone screams outside making you gasp and look to the door, anticipating the worst. But your attention gets drawn by someone intertwining her fingers with yours. You look back expecting to see Billie, but it’s Wilhemina. She gives you a ghost of a smile and murmurs, “Keep coming, darling.” How can she make you feel like melted butter so fast? 

You silently thank her for taking your hand and let her lead you over to Billie who stands behind the bar. She looks around, using the flashlight, but pauses, looking to one of the shelves as she says, “I think I found it.” Then she bends over to pick up the paper held under a bottle. As she does, Wilhemina lets out a hum of approval, making the blonde ask, “Enjoying the view, sweetheart?” Both you and Wilhemina chuckle and she replies, “Of course.” 

Billie straightens up, holding the piece and murmurs, “As much as I would like to show you both more, the room is a little too dusty and would ruin my discarded clothes.” Then she saunters over and gives you the map piece. You position it to fit with the other piece as her and Wilhemina debate if she would actually have sex in a public place. If you had to bet, you would guess she’s probably already done it. And from the smug look on her face you can tell you’re right.

Once you’ve got it placed, you interrupt their conversation and say, “I think the next place to go is the jailhouse.” They both come closer to look over your shoulder and you find yourself leaning into their warmth. Wilhemina comments, “It looks like it’s four or five buildings down.” Then Billie smirks and says, “I’ll take the lead.” She struts ahead of you both, her heels making a light tap on the worn floorboards. 

You look to the woman in purple who stands next to you and silently ask to take her hand, looking to her through your lashes. She lets out a dramatic sigh and says, “Yes you can take my hand.” You grin, quickly interlocking your fingers with hers before nuzzling into her arm a little and murmuring, “Thank you, Mina.” She begins to walk, guiding you both and softly replies, “You’re welcome.” and you both catch up to Billie.

Luckily no one jumps out at you when you enter the creaky, dimly lit jailhouse. So, you release Wilhemina’s hand, feeling emboldened to look around on your own. This isn’t that complicated and the scares are minimal...somewhat. 

All three of you part from each other and look for the next piece but come up empty handed. So, you walk over and enter the cell Billie is currently in, thinking two sets of eyes may be better than one. Plus you enjoy being close to her as much as you can. 

As you step closer to her, she turns and says, “Mmm, I appreciated that little murmuring you did in my ear.” What? You freeze up, eyes going wide as saucers as you whisper, “…That wasn’t me.” Then a bloodied prisoner emerges from the darkness with an evil grin. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. Immediately you stumble back to get away but end up pinned against the cool bars of the cell and all you can focus on is him coming closer to you.

However, as he comes closer you see he holds a piece of paper in his hand and realize it’s the map piece. He holds it out with bloody fingers and you cautiously go to take it, but he pulls it back with a teasing growl making you whimper. Well so much for this being a piece of cake. 

Luckily he holds it out again and lets you take the paper this time. Then he holds a finger to his lips as he backs into the darkened corner once more. Honestly fuck that guy. You just lost six months of your life to him. You inch your way out of the cell, keeping your eyes on the corner until you are outside the cell. Only then do you turn away and rush over to your girlfriends.

The three of you position the new part of your map and see it leads to your last destination: the bank. You can do this. How can it get worse? As you make your way to the exit you let out a small sigh of relief and say, “Only one more piece to go.” However, all three of you stop before you get to the door, seeing something out in the middle of the road.

 Billie is the first one to speak, saying, “Has that scarecrow always been out there?” This was no friendly Wizard of Oz scarecrow. It looks gnarly and terrifying with a bunched-up face and shadowed features. While it’s an obscure fear, you would take killer clowns or dolls over scarecrows any day. 

Wilhemina goes to walk out, but you grip her arm and whisper, “Can we wait a minute, please? It may leave.” Then it’s as if your prayers are answered and they slowly walk away, the footsteps heavy enough to be heard by you. They walk towards another group that’s outside and this is your perfect opportunity.

 Billie offers her hand and you take it, only then realizing you’re trembling. She squeezes your hand and soothes, “I’ve got you, babydoll.” Then the three of you step out, moving as quickly and quietly as you can to the bank.

As you walk, something shifts in the shadows making you curl into Billie, hiding your face. You can’t take much more. The medium merely chuckles and teases, “If I knew this would make you so cuddly, I would’ve done this much sooner.” You giggle as her thumb comes up to soothingly stroke your cheek, drawing you out of your hiding place. Has this really been that bad? Yes you have been scared shitless twice, but cuddling with Billie is a positive thing. And holding Wilhemina’s hand in public? A rare opportunity. 

Finally, you get to the bank and Wilhemina enters first. This is the darkest building you have been in, making you nervous for what other people may be in here. Meanwhile, the woman in purple bangs the flashlight against her hand a couple times, but the light is gone. She lets out a huff and mutters, “This flashlight is a piece of shit.” Then she sets it aside and pulls her phone out of her pocket, unlocking it before turning the flash on.

Both you and Billie look to her shocked and you stammer, “B-but we were supposed to leave those things behind.” Wilhemina scoffs, shining the light on you two as she turns back to face you and says, “Rule #1, never trust a stranger to keep your personal belongings. And don’t worry I have the car keys with me too.” 

Billie chuckles and shakes her head before saying, “You little minx. I should’ve known you would do that.” And you aren’t surprised either. Honestly a part of you agrees with her rule. 

You let go of Billie’s hand to look around, but try to stay close to them, getting exhausted from being so on edge. However, as you step further in, you hear a menacing growl and piercing scream almost directly outside of the bank. Oh, please no. Your head whips to face the entrance to the bank and you whimper, “Umm guys?” But you truly begin to panic when you turn back to see the vault door shutting after both of your girlfriends step in.

You run up to the door and try to open it, but it won’t budge. No, no, no. Shit what should you do? You whimper their names before saying, “It’s locked. I-I can’t get it open.” From the outside of the door, you hear Wilhemina growl, “Oh for fucks sake.” Then Billie says, “Angel, stay calm. We’re ok and you’re ok. Try to look for a combination to unlock the door. It’s probably at one of the tellers’ desks. You can do it, babygirl.” 

You let out a whimper, but reply, “O-ok.” Then you walk away from the door to look through the drawers of the first desk. Unfortunately without a light it’s difficult to see, but there is no sign of a combination. It’s fine, everything is fine. You have no reason to panic. Or at least you try to convince yourself of that. As you go to the second desk however, your blood runs cold as you see the shadow of the scarecrow coming towards the bank. 

Well when it rains it pours. You crouch down under the desk to hide in the foot space. Meanwhile you hear Wilhemina’s muffled voice say, “This is why I keep my phone on me, dear.” Then Billie’s muffled voice says something about taking joy in living in the moment. From their tones you can tell you need to find this combination soon before this ends with an argument and angry sex.

Panic rises within you as you hear the sound of heavy footsteps at the entrance of the bank getting louder and louder as they get closer. Then you nearly cry out when you see the scarecrow peek its twisted smiling face into the aisle of the desks. 

Don’t speak, don’t breathe, don’t even think. 

You keep perfectly still, holding your breath and thank your lucky stars when they walk away. If you lost six months before, you just lost a whole year off of your life. While the footsteps fade, they don’t leave the bank, so you slowly crawl over to the next desk and slowly look for any sign of a combination while trying to keep completely quiet. But there’s nothing so you crawl over to the next desk, holding your breath as listen to the thumping footsteps. You try to keep the cursing in your head quiet as you can, terrified of running into this...thing.

You look through everything and begin to lose hope but find a slip of paper with three numbers on it and you could cry tears of joy. But you keep cautious and crawl back over to the vault entrance where you still hear your girlfriends debating about living in the moment or planning ahead. 

You glance back to see the scarecrow is still here, but you are partially hidden from their view and your desire for your girlfriends outweighs your fear of them. What the hell, you’ve had a good life. So, you begin to twist the dial of the combination lock but hear movement behind you. No please, god. Please not now. You rush through the rest of the combination and the door opens.

As they walk out, Wilhemina says, “All I’m saying is one should be prepared for the worst so they can have the best experience.” To which Billie replies, “But you should also live in the moment or you’ll worry your whole life away.” But you cut them both off, whisper yelling, “OH MY GOD SHUT UP THEY’RE GOING TO KILL US!” That’s when they look down and see you curled up on the floor.

The medium looks around and says, “Darling…there’s no one here.” What? No. Well it’s a good thing, but now you look insane. You shoot up to stand and say as you look around, “But the scarecrow…I heard footsteps.” But you shake your head and look back to them, saying, “Never mind. Just…please tell me you have the map piece.” 

Wilhemina sports a proud smirk as she replies, “We found it and already placed it on the map, so we know where to go.” Oh thank god and the stars and everything else. You let out a sigh of relief and say, “Good. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

You step out of your bathroom into the master bedroom, sleepiness making your eyelids heavy as you walk over to your king-sized shared bed. But you nearly have a heart attack and when Billie jumps out and scares you with a devilish grin. 

You let out a squeak and run over to climb up on the bed, snuggling under the covers and curling into Wilhemina who sits and reads a book. Her warmth makes you feel safe and you keep cuddled into her, practically crawling onto her lap. Then she lets out a sigh and scolds, “Billie did you really have to do that?” The blonde smirks as she crawls up on the other side of the bed and leans against the cushioned headboard before she wraps her arms around you and hugs your body close to her chest.

The vibration of her voice soothes your stiff body as she soothes, “Awe, angel I would protect you from any monster. You know that, right?” and as you look up to her sweet face, you can’t be that upset. So, you nod and reply, “I think so.” Then she pecks your nose and murmurs, “I promise I will.” And you smile as she rubs her nose against yours. That is one of the best feelings in the world. 

You feel Wilhemina shift behind you and turn back to see her reaching for the lamp making you cry out, “Wait!” The images of tonight flash through your mind as she threatens to make the room as dark as that bank. 

The woman in a dark plum negligee pauses her movements and watches you with a questioning stare. You sit up to face her and ask, “D-don’t you want to read some more…maybe?” She raises her eyebrow and replies, “You don’t want the light off, do you?” Well so much for staying subtle. Your cheeks warm in embarrassment and you look down as you shamefully nod.

But she goes back to sitting and says, “I’ll just finish this chapter.” When you both know she would never leave a chapter unfinished. But you thank her, giving her a kiss on the cheek before returning to Billie’s warm embrace. 

Being in between these two feels like heaven on earth and you practically purr. She rubs your back and says, “So maybe next year we can just hand out candy to trick or treaters?” You nod and reply in a drowsy voice, “Sure.” You would agree to anything with the sweet voice she uses. And as she massages your scalp, your body twitches from falling asleep too fast, but just as you begin to drift off, Billie murmurs, “Happy Halloween, babygirl. Sweet dreams.”

Tagged: @marilynroselleprentiss​ @saviorinsilk​ @chokemepaulson​ @versonstar​ @lush-les-lady​ @cordwliagoode​ @psychobitchtess​  @tasyahilker​

Let me know if you would like to be tagged in future works!

[seven-seas-of-rhye-bread]

Joe X Reader Part 3

 *Warning* Very smutty smut below...

Part 3 "Almost...got it..." Kelsey said through gritted teeth as she zipped up the back of your dress.  You turned to look in the mirror, admiring the full-length black number Kelsey had picked out for you.

Kelsey stood back surveying you, "I don't know how you're gonna pee in this..."

 You laughed at the ridiculousness of Kelsey's comment, but then looked down, noting how form fitting it was, not to mention the fact that the dress was tiered with probably hundreds tassels.

You and Kelsey exchanged a look of worry before  Kelsey said, not too convincingly, "You'll be fine-- there'll be bathroom attendants...probably."

You stepped into your heels as Kelsey bent down to strap them on and continued on, 

"Okay, so the car's gonna be here in a couple minutes-- now I'm aware that leaving parties early is kinda your M.O.,  but this is a  S.A.G. event so please-- please-- stay for at least two hours this time?"

 Just then, her phone buzzed, " you're up-- car's downstairs."

_____________________

As you made your way through the gallery, two things were certain: it was almost too dim to see and you desperately needed a drink. The space looked almost too trendy with it's overflowing vases of white Calla lilies and roses, and the surplus amount of chandeliers. The music was loud too-- you had to practically shout your order to the bartender. 

You tucked your clutch under your arm and wandered slowly through the space as you mingled with guests, which got easier after you finished your first gin and tonic. 

 As you made your way through the crowd back towards the bar, you spotted someone you hadn’t thought you'd see here: Joe. 

 He looked devastatingly good in a black suit, chatting with a woman, who looked very keen on him. 

 You felt the wind knocked out of you-- but you weren't entirely sure why. You hadn't seen him in a month or so, since that night back in London. You two had exchanged texts on occasion, and he had liked photos on your instagram-- but that was the extent of your interaction.

 It felt as if things had fizzled out between you two-- which you had feared would happen, but what was there to do when you both lead such busy lives? You knew you shouldn't be sore on him, but you couldn't help it. 

You were about to turn back-- surely there was more than one bar-- but your eyes met; he saw you. You didn't want him to see you shuffle off in such a hurry, so continued you on and found a spot at the bar. 

"Gin and Tonic, please."

You rested your hands on the bar top to keep them from shaking, but still your heart beat wildly in your chest.

"You're a sight for sore eyes..."Joe's voice tickled your ear. He had saddled up next to you and leaned in closer, "how are you?"

You tried to give a smile, "Oh-- hey, I'm good." 

"Why didn't you come say hi?"

You shrugged, "you, uhm-- seemed kinda occupied."

He looked you square in the eyes, "you coulda come over, Y/N."

Ouch. You might have been sore on him, but he was sore on you too, now. 

You looked down, glad that he couldn't see your blushing in such dim light, "I'm sorry."

He gave a small smile, " its alright." 

The bartender handed you your drink and Joe followed you over to a quieter corner of the room.

"So, how have you been?"  he asked.

"I've been good-- busy."

"Me too."

"Yeah?"

 "Yeah."

An awkward silence hung between you two as you both took sips of your drinks. 

Joe rubbed the back of his neck, almost seeing irritated. 

"Everything alright?" you asked, genuinely concerned.

 "Yeah, it's just" he paused a moment, and gave a rueful smile, "it's awkward isn't it?"

You gave a short laugh, " yeah, it is." 

"Why is it like this between us? Let me ask you a question; do you still like me?"

You laughed nervously, embarrassed by his open line of questioning.

 "Well, do you?" he asked again. 

You nodded, "Yeah, Joe-- I do." 

"Good-- me too. So it shouldn't be weird, right?"

You shook your head, "no-- I guess not." 

The two of you shared a genuine smile, and all of the sudden, it felt right again-- like the two of you were back in London. 

"You look amazing by the way. I mean, just-- stunning, really." He leaned in closer, "if I'm being honest, seeing you in that dress..." 

His words trailed off as he looked you up and down.

 He had a way of making you feel completely unhinged in a moment's notice-- and you loved it. 

You smiled up at him, stepping closer so that your bodies were mere centimeters away, " Hmm? You like my dress?" 

 You reached up, adjusting his tie, letting your hands trail down his body, gently touching his cock through the fabric. 

He inhaled sharply and looked up, making sure no one was looking.  

"You literally just made me hard." he said bluntly, his voice deeper than it had been a moment ago. 

You were never one much for dirty talk, it usually embarrassed you to no end, but hearing Joe say that, drove you mad. 

"Oh yeah?" you asked, before surreptitiously brushing your hand up against his cock again.

 Fuck-- he really was getting hard. 

"It's a shame we're here..." you said teasingly, touching his chest.

 He swallowed hard, and looked up again, surveying the room.

"Come on." he said grabbing your hand.

 He led you through the crowd of people, wondering where he was taking you. He took you out of the main gallery and down a set of stairs, "Where are we going?" you whispered as you reached the bottom of the stairwell.

He looked back at you and smiled, "I have no clue."

"Joe!", you couldn't help but laugh. 

You two walked down a hallway while Joe tried every door and finally found an unlocked one. 

He opened the door onto an almost empty room, with clothed paintings stacked against one another. 

As soon as he locked the door behind him, you two were kissing.

 You sighed into him, feeling the passion build within you-- fuck you missed his lips. 

You grasped hungrily at his body, pulling him in closer.  With your back up against the wall, he began to kiss down your neck, nibbling and sucking at the most sensitive parts.

 "Fuck, Joe..." you breathed, as he pulled your dress up.

 He grasped the fabric of your thong and pulled it down, not even waiting for you to step out of them before he touched your core. 

You moaned as he rubbed your clit in gentle circles as he continued to kiss your neck. Wrapping your arms around his neck, you drew him in for a kiss. Just then, he slipped his fingers inside of you and your gasp was stifled by his tongue making it's way into your mouth. 

You whimpered as he moved his fingers inside of you-- you could feel yourself dripping with lust.  You moved your hands down his body and undid his belt and pants, slipping your hand in and grasping his cock and pulling it out. 

"Fuck, Y/N." his voice was raspy and caught in his throat as you moved your hands around the tip of his throbbing length, feeling his pre-cum.

 He pulled his fingers out of you and hitched your skirt up higher as his pants pooled around his ankles. 

You weren't sure how this would work, but in the matter of a second, he grasped your hips and lifted you up against the wall, propping you up with his body. He freed one of his hands and guided his cock into you. 

You let out a loud moan that was then cut short by his kiss. 

 He thrusted into you harder and harder as you wrapped your legs around him. He buried his face in your neck as his pace quickened. 

"Make me cum, make me cum.." you whimpered as you felt your orgasm begin to rip through you, your body tensing up as you rode that indescribable high. 

 You grasped the side of his face and kissed him before saying, " let me make you cum now..."

 He kissed you again before gently lowering you back down. 

You turned him around so that he was up against the wall, and you got down on your knees. You licked your cum off his cock and looked up at him. 

His head was back against the wall, his brow furrowed and his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed hard. 

You worked his cock, deepthroating his whole length and then sucking the tip and working the rest with your hands.

"Fuck, I'm gonna cum, Y/N."

You took his cock into your mouth as he came. He moaned as you gently worked his cock, getting every last bit of cum before you swallowed.

 His whole body relaxed against the wall as you stood up, pulling down your dress.

 He pulled you in for a long kiss and then rested his forehead against yours. You felt a warmth of adoration for him course through your body.

"I guess we should get back..." he mumbled as he nuzzled your neck. 

"Unfortunately, yes.." you agreed.  

You pulled away from him, and smoothed down your dress while he got himself situated.

  You were about to unlock the door when Joe spotted your thong on the floor, "oh-- don't forget this..." he said picking it up.

 You took it from him, and then tucked it into his pocket, "keep it." 

Enjoy!!!  @shiretotowntonation @gingersnaptaff @fass-inated @jondeacon

@wingedrhapsody

[theonyxpath]

Welcome to a series of MMN blogs where I’ll be looking at where we, Onyx Path, are with some of our methods of getting our projects out to you all. Seems to make sense here at the start of 2019.

Today, the topic is Kickstarters.

A little backstory:

Onyx Path ran our first Kickstarter for the V20 Companion in early 2012, the same year as we started publishing. Crowdfunding was a wild and wooly place back then, and KS was starting to be the “brand name” for the process.

I’d watched a few of our friends run campaigns, both successful and failed, and knew going into it that neither myself, who was running the whole thing, nor Justin, who was the developer of the book and as interested as I was in this new method of financing a project, really knew how it would turn out.

When I had put together Onyx Path as a publishing business, I hadn’t considered crowd-funding, but Justin and I had heard enough from our Vampire community clamoring for the V20 Companion to be a matching Deluxe book to V20 to know that we should figure out how to do it in a Deluxe format. Kickstarter seemed a way to get the needed upfront money for the Deluxe treatment.

Otherwise, the V20 Companion would have been available as PDF and PoD versions on DTRPG only. We just didn’t have the cash to pay the printer what they needed upfront to purchase all the Deluxe cover material, create embossing stamps, all that.

So, that’s how it started, this wild and tumultuous affair with Kickstarter that we’ve had for seven years and 33 Kickstarter campaigns.

Dystopia Rising: Evolution art by Marco Gonzalez

Here’s where we are now:

I told you all that so I could tell you this. We started with a very simple need – to afford a deluxe cover – and every single KS we did taught us more and more about how to run a KS.

If you joined us along the way, there may have been a method we used that turned you off, or another that you thought was awesome. From our point of view, we were learning how to do it well. Stretch Goals, Rewards, Add-ons, voting for sections in the books, when to run it, how much text to have finished and how much to share. The list goes on of the elements we have tried to add with some degree of success or another.

Now, this year, our KSs mostly have a few elements in common, like we try and keep the Reward Tiers to a smallish number, we go live only after we have all the text we need finished, and we reveal that text in chunks during the Kickstarter.

Getting Projects Into Stores:

Unlike when we started, we’re now doing most of our KSs with the stated goal of paying for a traditional print run that covers not just the backers’ copies but also to print an amount that will go into stores via our sales partners at Studio2 and IPR (who are they? look below in the Blurbs! section).

We might still do some Deluxes along the way, don’t worry, or some other special projects, but we’re exploring this trad printing option right now.

This greatly increases our retail options, which is a good thing as it’s another way for folks to get our games, and adds to the value of the Retailer Reward Tiers that have been a part of our KSs since the first couple of them.

Now Retailers can choose to wait and order the projects when they are made available through distribution channels, or they can opt in for pledging to the Retailer Reward Tier and get the copies earlier, with some bonus Screens and the Stretch Goal rewards they can sell or give away, and if they have polled their customers to get confirmed sales – those are books they don’t need to worry about selling off their shelves.

Geist 2nd Edition art by Brian LeBlanc

Getting Projects Out In a Timely Manner:

There’s no question about it, we prioritized everything else over hitting the Kickstarter estimates. This wasn’t because we didn’t care about them, but because we cared more about the quality of the projects we were creating.

And, in fact, still do.

BUT, we’ve leveraged our experience and are making sure that our Kickstarter projects have completed text before we go live with the KS now, which eliminates a huge percentage of our timeliness issues while still allowing our creators the time they need to insure high quality writing and rules.

That means that we have a bit less flexibility in the sorts of Rewards and Stretch Goals that add to the KS’d project itself, but its a trade-off that is working out pretty well. And we still have Stretch Goals that build additional and Companion books, so those extra sections are still being created.

Since we’ve put the “No KS without complete text” rule into effect, we’ve delivered Monarchies of Mau, Cavaliers of Mars, and Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition earlier than estimated, and things still look great for Fetch Quest and Dragon-Blooded. To name a couple close to shipping.

Now no doubt, we’re still popping out projects that had troubled histories from before that methodology went into effect, so it did take us a while to get to this stage, but we’re here now and it’s working great.

Getting Projects to Backers (Kickstarter Shipping):

This is an ugly topic, I’m afraid. Don’t let the kids see it.

The biggest negative aspect of a Kickstarter campaign, in terms of costs and time spent, is shipping the rewards out. Shipping costs are insane if you are shipping from the US to anywhere outside the US. We look for working partnerships with shippers around the world to offset some of those prices, and sometimes it works.

We have seen shipping costs on some projects as high as $50 an average to Canada, $64 on average to the EU, and $70 as a rest of the world average. Then there are customs fees on top of that. So, like I say, we keep looking for alternatives.

Plus, now we hear that USPS, who is often used as the middle-man by the big-name shippers, is raising their rates, so we’ll need to deal with that.

We also have been through another round of getting quotes from fulfillment shippers, and trying to find ones that can be relied on and stay reliable (and that we can afford) has been, and may always be, an ongoing process.

Sorry, I know that just reading about these issues is a drag, but they are a very real challenge that we work on with each KS. We’ve tried the “tack the shipping price on after the KS” method, and that was received…poorly by the backers.

We also can’t sidestep the whole thing and “eat the costs” or even a decent bite of them. We just aren’t Amazon, for good or ill, and our volume of ship-out packages is not even close to being in the zone where a company can do that.

So, we keep on baking in the shipping costs as best as we can accurately estimate them with our fulfillment partners, and at least our backers can look at that and what they see is what they get.

EX3 Lunars art by Gunship Revolution

Getting Projects Kickstarted:

This is kind of a catch-all topic. First, there’s the question of which projects we are KSing. What’s the criteria? Well, new game line core books, to start. We want those in stores, and we want folks to find out about them, and Kickstarter does both of those things for us.

There are also the Deluxe Exalted “fatsplat” books, which we look at as a part of a series, the core CofD 2nd Edition books, and select WoD supplements. Doing the V5 Chicago By Night Kickstarter, for example, gave us that visibility I mentioned above, as well as a chance to let backers, and by extension the larger WoD community, a chance to see where we would be going with the text.

Basically, do we think the project would benefit more from being KS’d than not, and not all would.

Next in this topic, we have the way our KSs are now run thanks to our “Kickstarter Concierge” James Bell, who sets up all our KSs now, makes sure that they are run as we’ve agreed – and fun for our backers is a HUGE part of that – and then creates and runs the BackerKit back-end site after the KS is over.

Having a dedicated Kickstarter runner has made a huge difference in customer service, and as my list of Kickstarters that I ran keeps shrinking, I am so glad that I could pass on the responsibilities of handling our KSs to James.

I mentioned that James is also running our post-Kickstarter BackerKit sites, and BK has also been a huge help in the handling of our KSs. We now use them for every KS; they are just set up to make it so much easier to track all the rewards folks can pledge for and Add-on, and for us to get out to backers. More accurate for the backers, and faster for us: win/win.

Finally, we’re trying a new thing this coming year, as even with James, we’re hard-pressed to run all the Kickstarter campaigns we’d like to – that we think would be good for the projects we’re making.

Our friends and Handiwork Games will be creating the Scarred Lands 5e Creature Collection and then running its Kickstarter on a new Onyx Path Publishing Kickstarter account. If this works out, we’ll have more flexibility on which KSs happen when, and we’ll look at how things go and maybe we’ll have more of our projects KS’d by other folks.

Because even if we think we’ve got a really great system for our Kickstarters now, we still keep looking for ways to make them better. For us, for our community of backers, and for our:

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER:

We finished up the They Came From Beneath the Sea! (TCFBtS!) KS last Thursday and those last 48 hours were amazing. I swear we added 200 backers, and finished up at 908 backers and over 200% funded. We were able to help fund several additional projects that will really help folks enjoy the game after they get through the main book. A smashing end to an experimental and excellent campaign.

Huge Thanks to everyone who contributed, and if you weren’t able to during the campaign, you can still get in on it via BackerKit when that site goes up, and then when we release the book into stores and DTRPG!

NEXT UP! We’ll be starting the Kickstarter for the Deluxe version of EX3‘s Lunars on February 12th – so don your beast forms and let loose a howl (or snarl or squawk or hiss) to let everyone know it’s coming!

ONYX PATH MEDIA

Illustration by Michael Gaydos

This Friday’s Onyx Pathcast features a deep dive by the terribly terrific trio into the Maelstrom of Wraith: The Oblivion, with special looks at Orpheus and how it all comes together with Wraith20! https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

And Here’s More Media About Our Worlds:

Last Friday our resident media man Matthew Dawkins got on YouTube and read the prologue for our popular Scarred Lands novel, Vigilant: Through Shadows and Dreams. Why did he embark upon this task? A couple of reasons! 1.) We want more people finding our fiction. 2.) We want to gauge your interest in our creating and releasing audio books of our fiction work! Please give the video a watch (https://youtu.be/SU1fgtGxSjw) or just download the mp3 if you want it to listen to as you drive or work out (https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/265096/Vigilant-Through-Shadow-and-Dreams-Prologue). Both are free and we genuinely value your feedback on our embarking into audio books and readalongs!

So please let us know in the comments here if audio books of our work would be something you like us to offer!

Our good friends at Caffeinated Conquests are at it again with “I Was A Good Boy Today”, the first part in their new Scion: Origin story! Please give it a watch if you want to watch some fun-loving roleplayers enjoy Scion: https://youtu.be/_S6IvpYSDFM

Speaking of Scion, the Scabby Rooster (so named after a sketchy fantasy tavern) is a superb Twitch channel who have just embarked upon a Scion story of their own, starting with character creation. Check them out and give them a follow! https://www.twitch.tv/scabbyrooster

The Story Told RPG Podcast is back too, this time with an interview with Matthew Dawkins regarding Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition! This one is a real deep dive and it’s timely, given the recent dispatch of the deluxe copies. Here’s the interview http://thestorytold.libsyn.com/episode-19-wraith-the-oblivion-20th-anniversary-interview-with-matthew-dawkins and please check Wraith out on DriveThruRPG if you’ve not already done so!

Finally, the much-anticipated first part of Red Moon Roleplaying‘s campaign of They Came from Beneath the Sea! is now up on their channel! Terror at Make-out Point is a game of They Came From with a horrific, Lovecraftian edge, so if you’re less into B-movies and more into creeping nastiness (complete with perfect editing, sound effects, and music), this is one to check out: https://youtu.be/Vjjan4hcqoM

ELECTRONIC GAMING:

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is both rolling and rocking!

ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE:

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue you bought it from. Reviews really, really help us with getting folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these fiction books:

OUR SALES PARTNERS:

Running until Feb 3 is the Trinity (Aeon) 1e Bundle of Holding: https://bundleofholding.com/presents/Trinity1E and the Aberrant 1e Bundle of Holding: https://bundleofholding.com/presents/Aberrant

Check them out and get some amazing deals on the first edition PDFs (same as we have on DTRPG) and watch how the Bundles grow during the duration of the sale!

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the Screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

We’ve added Prince’s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game

Now, we’ve added Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

And you can now order Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Cavaliers of Mars, and Changeling: The Lost 2e! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=296

DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

This Wednesday, we’re offering our monthly EX3 PDFs of Northern Ursidae and the Forest Strider for Hundred Devils Night Parade, and Ninegala, Forge Goddess of Makelo for Adversaries of the Righteous on DTRPG!

We are also adding Monarchies of Mau templates this week to the Canis Minor community content site for Realms of Pugmire! Now, you can add all your cat-astrophically good ideas for Mau books to the site!

CONVENTIONS

New convention notices coming soon!

And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM FAST EDDY WEBB (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

M20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)

Geist2e Fiction Anthology (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Distant Worlds (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Dragon-Blooded Novella #1 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)

Legendlore core book (Legendlore)

Creatures of the World Bestiary (Scion 2nd Edition)

Chicago Folio/Dossier (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Let The Streets Run Red (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)

Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)

TC: Aeon Ready Made Characters (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Trinity Continuum Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum Core)

TC: Aeon Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Redlines

Pirates of Pugmire (Realms of Pugmire)

Second Draft

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Scion Ready Made Characters (Scion 2nd Edition)

Witch-Queen of the Shadowed Citadel (Cavaliers of Mars)

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)

Memento Mori: the GtSE 2e Companion (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Development

Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Oak, Ash, and Thorn: Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

CofD Dark Eras 2 (Chronicles of Darkness)

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Manuscript Approval:

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Scion Jumpstart (Scion 2nd Edition)

CofD Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Editing:

Aeon Aexpansion (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Dystopia Rising: Evolution (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Tales of Excellent Cats (Monarchies of Mau)

V5 Chicago By Night (Vampire: The Masquerade)

V5 Chicago By Night Screen (Vampire: The Masquerade)

Spilled Blood (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

Wr20 Book of Oblivion (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)

C20 Novel: Cup of Dreams (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

Post-Editing Development:

Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Night Horrors: Shunned by the Moon (Werewolf: The Forsaken 2nd Edition)

In Media Res (Trinity Continuum: Core)

Indexing:

Scion Origin (Scion Second Edition)

Scion Hero (Scion Second Edition)

Ex3 Dragon Blooded (Exalted 3rd Edition)

ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

In Art Direction

Dystopia Rising: Evolution – Art tweakage.

The Realm – More sketches coming in.

Ex3 Monthly Stuff –

Chicago By Night – Contacting artists to see who is open.

Aeon Aexpansion

They Came From Beneath the Sea!

EX3 Lunars – KS prep.

Signs of Sorcery – Over to layout this week.

In Media Res – Sketches coming in.

Hunter: The Vigil 2

Shunned By the Moon – Almost done contracting artists.

Book of Oblivion – Contracted and should see sketches soon.

Contagion Chronicle – Fulls/splats contracted for KS.

Marketing Stuff

In Layout

Slarecian Vault Materials

C20 Player’s Guide

Proofing

Scion Hero – Indexing.

Scion Origin – Indexing.

M20: Gods and Monsters – Waiting for WW approval.

Pugmire Roll of Good Dogs and Cats – Getting backer PDF ready to send to backers.

Trinity Core – Inputting Errata.

Trinity Aeon – Inputting Errata.

Ex3 Dragon Blooded – Indexing.

Geist 2e

At Press

Wraith 20th – Prepping for backer ship-out.

Wraith 20 Screen – Prepping for backer ship-out.

Scion Dice – At Studio2.

Scion Screen – At Studio2.

Fetch Quest – Shipping to US.

Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) – Backer PDF going out this week.

CtL2e Condition Cards – Waiting for PoD proofs.

Canis Minor – Opening up Monarchies of Mau for community content.

TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: 

Last Friday was my birthday, and I’m just always surprised I’ve made it this far!

[revisionaryhistory]

It’s All Art ~ 70

Lot’s of new followers . . . Welcome.

Needless to say, there was very little unpacking. They did shower and change. Oscar made a pained face when Charlotte came out from the dressing area, “Oof.” She smiled and turned a circle. She wore a flowy skirt that drug a few inches on the ground. It was a pattern of blue medallions on a white background. The slit went halfway up her thigh. Her top was a flouncy two tiered crop top with spaghetti straps. Chunky bracelets, earrings, and strappy sandals completely the look. He grinned and shook his head as he approached her, taking her hands, “You look like an island girl.”

 “Mum put some of my old clothes in the closets.”

 “Remind me to thank her. You look beautiful.” He knelt to run his hand up the leg barred by the skirt’s slit and kiss her bared stomach, “These things will tease me all evening.” He stood, “I need island wear.” He looked at his shirt and jeans. “I have two pairs of shorts.”

 “Can I take you shopping and dress you up?”

 “Only if you undress me later.”

 The couple showed up at the family residence holding hands and laughing. They found her parents unloading the dishwasher. Charlotte picked up a brownie from the plate on the counter, sharing a bite with Oscar who stood behind her. Her dad smiled, “You both clean up well.”

 Alexis noticed Oscar’s hand on her waist, his thumb on bare skin, “Get everything unpacked?” Charlotte nodded her head. Alexis smiled slightly and shifted her eyes to Oscar. He scrunched up his face and shook his head no. She laughed, “Good.”

 “I’m not looking at you.” She poked Oscar’s stomach.

 He kissed her neck, “I didn’t say anything.”

 “I felt you shake your head.”

 Micah was snickering. Oscar looked at him, “Come on. We’re men, help me out here.”

 He put his hand on Oscar’s shoulder as he walked by, “We’re also outnumbered and far inferior.”

 Oscar did a quick count. Four females. Three males. “Damn.”

 Micah called for the kids and they ran into the room. Toni ran straight to him, “Will you sit with Bella and me at dinner?”

 He bowed slightly, “I’d be honored.” He held out his hands, “Ladies, lead the way.” The twins took his hands and led him down the down the sidewalk toward the main resort.

 Charlotte lagged behind to walk with her brother and take a quick picture of Oscar with her sisters. She laughed hearing their chatter and the answers he gave. Nate pulled her hand to catch up, “Come on, Sissy. Toni will eat all the bread before we even get there.”

 She gathered her skirt, “Oh, can’t have that.” They picked up the pace and squeezed past her parents, catching up to the front three. “Excuse us, important things going on. Budge over.”

 Oscar pulled the girls out of the way, “What’s the rush?”

 Toni glared ahead and tugged on Oscar, “Nate wants to get to the bread first.”

 “Let’s get ‘em.” The five were practically running down the path.

 Unencumbered by a skirt and the younger child, Oscar’s group got ahead. Charlotte grabbed Oscar’s pants to slow him down, “Go Nate!” Nate took off around his sisters.

 “Go girls! She’s got me. Go!” The girls took off and Oscar put his arm around Charlotte. She pushed him away and took off. “You did not just do that.”

 “Keep up, baby.” She laughed and increased the distance.

 Not far enough. She was almost there when an arm hooked around her stomach and lifted her off her feet, “Gotcha!”  He pulled her away from the entrance while she flailed, “Not going to work.”

 She wiggled a little more then relaxed, “You win.”

 “It’s not a win unless I get a kiss?” He let go enough for her to turn. With his relaxed grip she tried to get away again. He tightened his hold, “Nope.”

 Charlotte glared at him before putting her hand on his chest and reaching up to kiss him. Her parents came up behind them, “You two are making more noise than the littles.”

 The naughty children looked sheepish, joining hands before falling in behind her parents. Oscar leaned toward her, “What’s with the littles thing?”

 “The triplets are the littles and Matt and I are the bigs.”

 “Oh, that makes sense. Minis would be cuter for them, but maxis . . . nah.”

 The littles were already into the bread before the adults got to the table. They’d taken their places with an empty seat between them. Toni stood up and pointed as she told them where to go, “I’m here, then Oscar, Bella, Daddy, Sissy, Nate, and Momma.”

 Micah went to his place, “How about Sissy and Momma trade places?”

 All three yelled, “No.”

 Oscar gave Charlotte a quick kiss and sent her toward her chair. Bella sighed, “That’s why. Because Momma and Daddy kiss too much.” She looked at Oscar, “And you just kissed my sister.”

 Oscar sat down, “Yeah, but I didn’t like it.” He shivered.

 Toni made a face and stuck out her tongue, “Kissing is gross.”

 Charlotte huffed out a breath and dropped her shoulders, “Thank you. I’ve been telling him that.”

 Oscar threw up his hands, “No more kissing.”

 She rolled her eyes, “Absolutely.”

 Drink orders were taken and Micah started conversation. “Oscar, have you been to Greece before?”

 “Athens and Crete back in 2012 for filming. Viggo, Kirsten, and I wanted to come to Mykonos, but the director said we were having enough fun without coming here.  Made it off limits.”

 Micha laughed, “Probably a good choice.”

 “There’s not a lot of down time on location shoots and it was a small budget. I did get to explore Athens. Fascinating. Loved the history and the ruins.”

 Alexis jumped in, “You should take a boat over to Delos.” Oscar looked at Charlotte and her mom continued, “The sacred birthplace of Artemis and Apollo. No one else has ever been born or died on the island. It’s a historic archeological site. Lots of ancient ruins.”

 Oscar smiled, “I’d love that.” The triplets chimed in that they wanted to go. “That might be something good to do when Matt and Abby get here.”

 Micah laughed at his cheering children, “Good idea.” He looked at Oscar, “You two aren’t tied to non-stop family time. We’ve got work and they’ve got school, so while we want to spend time with both of you, it’s vacation time too. We’ll join in on what you’re doing when you want us too.”

 “You’re always welcome.” Oscar amended that when Micah raised his eyebrows and smiled. “Almost always.”

 Dinner was filled with ideas of what to do while they were here. Small inhabited islands, jet skis, horseback riding, boat trips, lying on the beach, wandering the town. The couple decided the first thing they needed to do was go shopping. After dinner they headed back toward the villa to grab Charlotte’s purse before heading to town. Both were tired, but it was difficult to spend a relaxing day by the pool without swimsuits. That made the littles want to go swimming before bed and they tore off toward their house.

 Alexis took Oscar’s arm and started walking. She leaned in toward him, “Charlotte’s going to explode if she doesn’t get to ask her father how he likes you.”

 Oscar laughed, “I see directness is a family trait. She warned me.”

 “Used to drive her crazy when she was a teenager. Looking back I’m sure it was embarrassing in front of her friends at times, but they all thought we were the cool parents.”

 “She might have mentioned something about that.” The pair shared a smile. “I was nervous meeting Micah.”

 Alexis patted his hand, “That’s sweet. She means a lot to you.”

 “No, she means everything to me.”

 “Which is why you have nothing to worry about with her father.” She shrugged, “I was won over with how she talked of you.”

  Charlotte held back, letting her mom and Oscar get ahead, before she tucked her arm through her dad’s. Micah put his hand over his daughter’s, “Something you want to know?”

 She squeezed in tighter, “I know it’s only been a few hours, but do you like him?”

 He laughed, “I liked him after the first ten minutes.” He pulled his arm from her and put it around her shoulder, kissing her head, “You have never seemed happier and he clearly adores you. That’s all that’s important to me.”

 “I told him that’s what you’d say.”

 “Then why are you asking me?”

 Charlotte shrugged and a blush rose to her cheeks, “You’re still my dad and your opinion matters.”

 “Nice to hear.” He gave her another squeeze. “I do like him. Besides you being happy, he seems like a nice man. Funny. Good with the littles.”

 “He’s got a big Cuban/Guatemalan family.”

 “Still.” Micah nodded, “I’m glad I only knew who he was from you, mum, and Matt. I think if I’d known I would have watched all his movies trying to figure him out.”

 “That’s what I’ve thought. I know it’s kind of springing him on you and my friends.”

 “No, I think you were right.” They arrived at her villa and assumed Oscar had gone inside and Alexis on to their home. Micah pulled Charlotte into a tight hug, “I’m happy for you.”

[imaginesofeverykind]

Come back for me || Peter Parker x Reader ||

Character: Peter Parker x Fem!Reader

Fandom: MCU/SM:HC

Warnings: Spoilers??? LIke if you haven't seen the movie (will keep posting this warning until it’s out on Blu-Ray) ANGST

Request: YASSSS by my bean @rafeadderall [OMG OK A PETER PARKER IMAGINE, where like the reader knows and supports peter for bein spider-man but maybe it's used against him and she's hurt? Cliché yes but how about the reader like refuses to see peter because she's all scarred and shit and they break up I guess BUT THEN AT THE END ITS ALL CRYING AND MENTAL BREAKDOWNS AND FLUFF BEVAUSE WHO DOESNT LIKE ANGST]

Prompt: You and Peter Parker were anything but ordinary as a couple, you supported him as the web-slinging hero of Queens, however, the tables are turned when you get caught in the cross fire and end up seriously injured.

Tags: @deans-angel-of-thursdays 

Word Count: 1, 657

It had roughly been three months since Y/N found out her boyfriend, Peter Parker, was Spider-Man. At first, she was mad, then she accepted it after a week of not talking to him. He couldn’t blame her at all for it, but he was glad she came to an understanding eventually. 

For three months, Y/N helped Spider-Man gather intel when he asked for it and even went out for recon missions. In the beginning, he was against the idea of getting involved but as soon as she tried to argue that ‘Oliver Queen would be nothing as Green Arrow without Felicity Smoak - and I’m your Felicity Smoak’ he found it hard to reject that statement. 

Currently, Y/N pressed her phone to her ear as she tapped her foot impatiently on the ground. “You got eyes on any of those guys in the pictures I sent you?” Peter’s voice asked, crisp from the microphone Tony Stark had placed inside the Spider-man suit. She peered up ahead, eyeing the exact person he was talking about, she flicked down the shades resting on top of her head and hummed in response. 

Wearing sunglasses always made her feel like a spy of sorts but also helped her remain hidden in plain sight. “Seated centre, the left-hand side toward the front of the ferry and on the top tier.” She informed, slouching in her seat as she tried to remain as civilian like as possible among others on the Staten Island Ferry. 

“Great work, I’m dropping in on your right - thank you.” He stated, she peered out the window seeing if she could spot her boyfriend clad in the red and blue suit, however, didn’t manage to snag a glimpse. “You’re welcome - so I was thinking Chinese for dinner? I know this great place on 178th street, has the best Mongolian beef in Queens.” 

Peter chuckled at her, his heart warming with her words. “Sounds Perfect - all right, I can see the target, but he’s talking to someone are you able to get a closer look?” Y/N nodded with a hum, standing up casually and strolling on past the two men they had eyes on. She pretended to look out the window, lowering her phone from her ear as to not look suspicious.

She walked back to her seat, and brought the phone to her ear once more, “definitely not any of the guys in the picture you sent me... could be a buyer for the weapons - or manufacturer?” Waiting momentarily there was no response, “Peter?” she whispered his name, another beat of silence before he answered, “sorry, I heard them mention a white pickup truck - was sending drony down there... so he’s no one familiar - oh woahwoahwoah - hey, our guy’s on the move.” 

Y/N looked up and saw the guy from the picture up and leave, abandoning the man he was ‘not-so-subtly-but-kinda-subtly’ talking to. “I think we’ve got buyers, sellers and the weapons all in one place Y/N, we could bust these guys for good.” 

“Perfect... So I’ll book a reservation for dinner at six then?” She grins, which made Peter grin and his chest constrict. God, he loved Y/N. And he was so happy she was able to provide a helping hand where necessary, he wouldn’t be able to do it without her. “Dinner at six, fantastic. I love you.” 

She smiled, bringing her lips between her teeth to stop herself from smiling more, “I love you too, go get em’ cowboy.” Peter chuckled, inhaling a deep breath and ending the call with Y/N as he began his attempt to thwart the arms deal occurring at the back of the ferry. 

As soon as he hung up, Y/N wasted no time in planning their dinner as she had promised, eager to have finally put an end to these weapons deals. Once she ended the call she immediately notices the older gentleman who was speaking to their ‘target’ not even five minutes ago get up, gritting his teeth with a snarl on his face.

Watching him walk past she tried to make it subtle that she wasn’t following, “-now where are you going...” she murmured to herself, keeping at a safe distance as not to appear suspicious. Y/N followed him all the way to the bottom tier of the ferry - which all the vehicles were located and Spider-Man was already handling the thugs. 

The man stopped just short of a white van, eyeing the scene in front of him. Whilst Peter was taunting the thugs, he turns and see’s the man staring at him - but it wasn’t that which shocked him, had him frozen in place and his chest constricted. The biggest mistake he made was shouting her name, out of pure shock and terror, “Y/N!” 

The man swivelled in his spot and eyed her, he had no idea the young girl was following him. But clearly - by this short interaction - Spider-Man knew her personally, and he would try his best to exploit that. Y/N was swift on her feet as she quickly side stepped away from him and darted toward Peter. 

“What are you doing, get back upstairs-” Peter instructed only he was cut off by an entire team of undercover FBI agents swarming the back area of the Ferry. “Freeze! FBI!” Instinctively Peter stood in front of Y/N, keeping his arm in front of her as he spoke, “wait - what do you mean FBI?” How did the FBI know of this weapons deal, it perplexed Peter.

He had no time to question why they were here as the sound of metal being ripped apart grabbed his attention. His heart sank, all he had to see for his spirits to fall immediately was the slightest section of the grotesque wings from the relentless vulture figure. 

He tore apart the van and flew at an intimidating speed with one of the high-tech super weapons equipped in his hands. Peter’s eyes widened, “hey - hey, get out of the way - get out of the way!” He beckoned to the agents but it was no use, the vulture had shot a bright purple laser in their direction whilst flying toward them. 

Y/N looked in horror as she had no idea what she got herself in. Peter pushed her out of the way, as well as two other FBI agents to safety. Only, the vulture was quick and agile, swooping over Peter attempting to drop a car on him and yanking Y/N into the air. 

His metal talons pierced her shoulders causing her to cry out in pain, she tried frantically to free herself but it was no use. “No!” Peter screamed out, outstretching his hands and slinging out his webs to try and bring the vulture down, he shot out two webs, launching himself off the ferry and kicking the clad in black thug.

It was enough to stun him momentarily, Peter gripped Y/N by the waist, shooting a web to the back of the ferry and slinging her back to safety, she clutched onto him tightly, a searing pain in her shoulders. “Y/N you gotta get out of here-”

“Look out!” Y/N shoved both of them out of the way as another purple beam headed right toward them. Peter gestured for her to move back as he aimed his web to latch onto the Vultures weapon, “activate taser webs!” Electricity surged up through his web and onto the weapon, which conducted it through the Vulture’s suit. It started to spark and wheeze as it began to fail, he let go of the weapon, letting the tension from Peter’s web hurl it back onto the ferry.

Due to the electrical current from the taser webs, the gun started shooting out short bursts of energy all over the place, panicked, Peter tried his hardest to stop the blasts with a thick coat of webbing. He turned to the vulture, who simply stated, “you’re messing with things you don’t understand,” before flying upward and out.

“Peter.” Y/N squeaked, grasping the hero’s attention. He spun, immediately he paled - not that anyone could see - and his blood went cold. She clutched her stomach, her chest heaved and a pained expression masked her typically happy and carefree face Peter was so used too. “no...no-no-no...”

She stumbled backwards into the wall, Peter darted across to her bringing her hand in his as she slid down the metal surface. Tears pooled in her eyes, pain coursing through almost every part of her body, “Pete...” she whispered, her voice hoarse and her eyes wide, “I-I can’t feel my legs.” coughing, blood spurted from her mouth. 

“Y/N... hey look at me...” Peter’s lip quivered, tears welled in his eyes. “You’re gonna be okay... you’re gonna be fine, we’re gonna go to dinner at that Chinese place on 178th street... and you’re gonna be okay... you’re okay...” Peter rambled, he wasn’t sure who he was trying to reassure, himself or Y/N. She shook in his grip, her hand gripped Peter’s tightly. 

Blood dribbled from her mouth and she looked desperately at Peter, trying to look into his eyes through his mask. Behind him, in among the webs, the high tech weapon hit an unstable pressure, imploding in on itself before bursting an intense purple beam that ripped through the entire main frame of the ferry in half. Y/N brought her hand up to Peter’s cheek, feeling the texture of the mask, “go get em’ cowboy.” she whispered, a smile on her face. 

“I’ll come back for you.” Peter sobbed, letting go of her hand had never been so heartbreaking before. He picked her up carefully, carrying her to the second tier of the ferry before he went off to try and stop the ferry from sinking. 

[thenichibro]

Summer 2017 Anime First Impressions

Well here we are again, four weeks into the season before I finally get around to catching up on the twenty shows I’m keeping track of. Not like anyone reads these anyway. Regarding this season, we can say one thing: at least it isn’t last season. Thus far there’s been nothing super stand out, with a lot of middle-of-the-road shows and a few ones slightly better. Much preferable to the shit show 16 weeks ago. As usual, here’s what I’m watching, with MAL links and original shows marked:

Tsurezure Children (MAL) Starting off, we have a webcomic turned serialized manga turned anime, and for good reason. Tsurezure is a 4-koma romcom focusing on way too many couples in bite-sized happy romance stories. Defined by reaction faces, exclamation points, and yet a surprising amount of exposition, it's a quirky comedy I glad I started reading. One of the main downsides of Tsurezure is that although it has overarching themes, minute-to-minute enjoyment is very much based on the current couple. Personally, I love the Class Prez/Deliquent, Chiaki/Kana, and anything with the Love Master. The problem, then, is that once you find the few you really like, it's kind of a shame you only get so much time with them. A simple art style that matches the manga belies an infectious humor that Toshiya has mastered. This is one short show I wish was longer. Watch this.

Aho Girl (MAL) Continuing the notable increase in half-length shows, we have this half-witted one. Aho Girl, lit. "Clueless Girl," follows Yoshiko, an idiot, and her friends(?), mostly childhood friend Akuru, trying to deal with her idiocy. A suitably odd OP, both in sound and visuals (or relative lack thereof), leads into Yoshiko's introduction through getting a 0 on all her tests. I guess that confirms the title, now doesn't it? Tsukkomis, wild attitude swings, and bananas are the name of this show's game. One thing I love right off the bat is just how blatantly annoyed Akuru gets with Yoshiko's antics. It's not hard to see the "he's supporting her because he does feel something," but that being shelved in favor of faces of disgust is just funny on a very essential level. This show knows exactly what it is, a dumb comedy about a girl being dumb. And yet it's dumb fun all the same.

Isekai Shoukudou (MAL) A somewhat restrained take on the well-worn isekai genre, Shoukudou involves Nekoya, a resataurant that serves fantasy creatures once each week, connecting to "the other world" through the restaurant's front door. Right off the bat, the upbeat OP is coupled with some fantastic visuals. I missed having a food porn show last season, but Shoukudou brings it back in force. Further, throughout each episode the background music keeps pace with events and is a very nice touch to the cool tones of this show. Indeed, this show absolutely exudes cool. The smooth tunes while the last few customers (albeit they being beastmen, wizards, and the like) finishing their orders, Aletta and the Master cleaning tables into the night, it's just so nice. Aletta is the new hire, a demon girl homeless in "the other world" who finds the door to Nekoya by happenstance and promptly gets a job and a new outlook on life. She's real cute. Shoukudou has plenty of the "customer narrates the intricacies of how good the food is" every time a new customer comes in, but it's great all the same. If this show is a slow introduction of new characters to Nekoya for the rest of the run time, I will be more than satisfied. AOTS contender right here. Satisfied with an isekai? What is this season coming to?

Koi to Uso (MAL) Marraige is arranged genetically for happiness at 16, and other love is forbidden. As if there was a premise that lent itself more to a high school romance-drama. I have to say, I am in absolute disbelief that Koi to Uso isn't penned/drawn by the same creator as Scum's Wish. The artstyle and really the whole tone, albeit Koi to Uso being a bit more restrained, I immediately thought it was the same author. Wild. Anyway, we're dropped into a modern Romeo and Juliet, Nejima and Takasaki confess, to each other, just as the government - the external circumstances - are pulling them apart. It's not a new path forward, but I think the latter half of the first episode conveyed the emotions pretty well. The beautiful artstyle helps, and with shaking hands, red cheeks, and streaming tears the ending scene got me into it, despite the expected outcome. ...Is what I was thinking as Nejima fucking fell on top of Ririna (his assigned wife) in the second episode. Why. Why do that? Why have that 6 seconds into the show? At least the girls are cute - Takasaki in a hoodie, shorts and thighhighs was just incredible, but Ririna with her curious eyes and attitude beyond her height, hoo boy - guess I'm rooting for the underdog now. Time to suffer. With Ririna's schemes, Koi to Uso is perfecting anxiety - having something so treasured so close, being trapped by things out of your control, being trapped by things inside yourself - so much anxiety. This show can't go anywhere except emotional turmoil, but if it's already getting emotional responses out of me, I'm going to stay interested. Especially after episode three's ending.

Netsuzou TRap (MAL) Yet another shorter-than-normal show, we have NTR. Yes, that NTR. The "fuck over the caring guy and get off on cheating behind his back" kind of NTR. Just now with lesbians. Even moreso, I dislike Hotaru's archetype so much it just makes me feel bad for Yuma. If you're into that, watch this. If you're not, don't. I don't know why I did. There are better fetishes.

Clione no Akari (MAL) The fourth and last of the short shows, Clione no Akari begins with Takashi and Kyoko trying to help Minori, who is getting bullied. Its muted art style matches this tired premise. I know it's only nine minutes, but the first episode still felt like it dragged on for some reason. Moreover, both Takashi and Kyoko reflect on their weakness and that they want to stand up to the class for Minori, but then in the second episode all of that possible growth just gets passed over. They call out to her after she almost gets splashed by a car, and then Takashi says "After that, Kyoko and I grew so focus on how we could solve Minori's current situation, it was as if it were happening to us." So after they complain about their weak personalities, instead of forcing them to change, they simply get a way to help Minori while not directly standing up to the class. It seems like if it affected them that much you'd see a bit more exposition rather than nothing to "And then, we became super close to her" over the span of fifteen minutes. It might seem like I'm asking for a lot from a 9-minute show, but that's exactly the point - if a show aims to be an engaging drama about making friends and standing up for one another, it needs to have more substance packed into its short timespan, and Clione no Akari does not.

Hajimete no Gal (MAL) And the award for "highest percentage of animation budget used exclusively for cameltoe" goes to... First, make sure you eschew the HorribleSubs release on this one, because the censoring is bad. Not Terra Formars bad, not Shinmai Maou no Testament bad, but it's not great. Now then, this is a very simple decision: you watch for the fanservice, or you don't watch at all. I'm serious when I say the animation goes to Yukana, and to a lesser extent the other girls, because the male characters (even the MC) and everything else looks downright bad. The fanservice, however, is pretty damn nice. Junichi's delusions lead into some steamy scenes that are top tier gyaru action. Other than that, the OP/ED are generic, the other girls are lackluster, and the "comedy" is unfunny. Just skip through the dialogue until you get Yukana being cute, and this'll be somewhat enjoyable.

Gamers! (MAL) A nothing main character spoken to by the cutest girl in school because she's interested in video games and especially his passion for them, despite never talking prior. Wew. Karen, said cutest girl, is attempting to bring back the school's gaming club, where real gamers play games with their gaming friends. These are serious gamers, so serious about their gaming that they forget everything else except the game, like the true gamers they are. Episode one has fantastic lines like "I've been looking for new members who are undeniably true gamers" and "Why did you guys become gamers?," like it's something you have to awaken to. And yet even in spite of this, the glorification of gaming is still going hand-in-hand with the conceptualization of "gamers" as outside normal people. Karen hasn't told anyone about her gaming passion even though she's so popular (and it's foreshadowed she'll lost her widespread respect), and Amano gets the description "Games are his friends." Every character is just entranced with Amano's gaming spirit that they can't help but want to game with him. And just like a good MC, Amano is humble and pessimistic about his own gaming passion, but stands up for the game club and the gamers that make it up. This show feels like an E3 PR rep's ideal anime. The game references themselves aren't half bad, but that's certainly not saving this waste of my time. Guess I'm just not a true gamer.

Made in Abyss (MAL) I was originally off-put by the character designs, but I am glad I finally decided to watch it. A city sits on a massive hole - The Abyss - full of ancient ruins - and our main characters are delvers into the giant void. Importantly, Made in Abyss lets us know right off the bat that it will not be all idyllic landscapes - a close call with a dangerous monster now foreshadows so much better than suddenly changing the show's tone halfway through. Background music and art style both benefit this show greatly - the music rising and falling with he action while the art easily conveys the current state of the landscape - overgrown yet hiding secrets. Riko is a energetic girl at an orphanage guild, known for swiping Relics she finds and generally causing trouble. In the tussle with the monster, she is saved by a robot boy, Reg and promptly takes him back to experiment. Just the first episode sets up tone, characters, and the mystery of the Abyss with precision. The choice of children as main characters is an interesting one, but I almost didn't think twice because the rest of the people in Made in Abyss didn't think anything of it, either. Starting with a premise that has such a clear objective, like the Abyss' bottom, also relatively anchors the show against wild plot swings, which gives me more confidence in the story going forward. All these things combined are making for quite an enjoyable experience, and I can't wait to see where it goes.

Ballroom e Youkoso (MAL) Tatara is our typical despondent teen protag, who through a chance encounter is roped into trying ballroom dancing, and in it sees an opportunity to find himself. I picked this up solely on its premise, because I've never seen an anime about ballroom dancing before. It just seems so far from the typical slate that it caught my eye. This show's unique animation style, credit to Production I.G., has its ups and downs. For the most part, the show looks clean, the lines look great, and the motion is good. On the other hand, the actual dance scenes seem to lose a bit, in favor of dramatic freeze frames or showing the top halves of people rather than their legs moving or other intricate motion. I'm certainly not going to yell at the animators, for a show in which Tatara is won over by simply watching a ballroom dancing DVD, to get the viewers interested the motion, the visceral movements of the dance need to be shown, and more often than not they aren't. Oh, and the necks. Why is everyone's neck so long? Apart from Tatara, behind Sengoku's bombast lies a calculated, seriously powerful personality that is the perfect motivator for Tatara. And I don't know about you guys, but Shizuku is cuter in her practice/casual clothes than in a ballroom dress. Just my taste. Anyway, alongside the stalls in animation, I can't honestly say I like Tatara's VA. To me it just gives off the trying-too-hard-to-be-a-teen vibe too much for me to not notice it every time he speaks. While still enjoyable, these two faults are noticeable the entire time you watch the show. However, if you are interested in the premise, and don't mind animation quirks, then by all means, Welcome to the Ballroom.

[ORIG] Princess Principal (MAL) Alt history, 20th century steampunk London, and spies but also superpowers and made-up minerals, this is Princess Principal. Smooth jazz while a loli-ninja wearing a mushroom hat cuts up 20th century cars? Sure, why not? Cavorite, the aforementioned made-up mineral, allows for temporary control of gravity, allowing the girls to make their first daring escape with a VIP. Also, the girls are spying between the Commonwealth, or the West, and the Empire, or the East. Also the Princess herself is a spy. It's certainly a lot to take in immediately, but this show seems to revel in the craziness - echoing the fast-paced, spontaneous action of the spies themselves. Our main girl Ange lies to get through life, and is soft spoken and terse. The others in her immediate crew range from the authoritative onee-san to the cheerful loli. I personally feel like they could have made a perfectly enjoyable spy thriller with just alternate history and no supernatural element Take Joker Game from a few seasons ago - that even went so far as to be historically accurate in its place names and such, and aside from some same-facing was a wonderfully engaging show. While I do feel the personalities more in these femme fatales, I just don't see the "thriller" part as holding up as much. It's really not bad - I just feel my main gripe here is the overpresence of themes that don't need to be there. Still worth a watch if you don't mind it.

Centaur no Nayami (MAL) Having watched both MonMusu and Demi-chan and consequently becoming an Expert™ on monster girl shows, Centaur no Nayami is most certainly more of the former. I'll say at the very least that guys in school also being monsters is a welcome change, rather than including a harem. Hime, the titular centaur, acts just like her name. Nozomi is our sharp-tongued, tomboyish tsundere, while Kyouko (my favorite) is a terse, blonde tsukkomi. We get a surprising amount of world-building right out of the gate - the world is as it is thanks to a different evolution path, and to avoid the discrimination of the past, "equality" is aggressively and strictly enforced. The seemingly dark background behind the otherwise peppy slice-of-life is definitely off-putting, and seems immediately at odds with the tone. If while walking around town the girls maybe glimpsed an abuse or something similar, the aggressive equality mantra might seem like an understandable government reaction. Seeing nothing of the sort while hearing Kyoko not want to ride Hime because that's discrimination and she might get sent to a "correction facility" is more than a bit unsettling. Production-wise, the show looks and sounds great. Quirky music for quirky circumstances, and the motion of all the characters' different bodies is conveyed convincingly. The A/B Parts splitting the episode is something I haven't seen in quite a while, but I think it lends itself well to the SoL part of the show. Overall, this is a surprisingly endearing slice of life with a higher-than-normal amount of kissing, and I just wish they'd lay off the dramatic background. Worth a watch if you're into monster girls or slice of life more generally.

[ORIG] Action Heroine Cheer Fruits (MAL) Last but not least, we have Action Heroine - Heroines (as in those live-acted hero shows) are now super-popular, and the show follows one town that is way behind the curve on popular heroines. Immediately, I like the art. It seems like not too much more than "generic anime-style," but Diomedia has a way of doing soft lines and expressive faces that just looks great. Now I don't pretend to like hero/heroine-type premises, but even I can see this show's got remarkable heart. Spurred by her sister wanting to see Kamidaio, the current most famous heroine, Mikan, an earnest, caring sister teams up with Akagi, an energetic Kamidaio-super fan to put on a small-scale show, and the rest is history. Their first performance is carried singlehandedly by the effort the two girls put into making Mikan's sister's dream come true. Action Heroine gives off the feel of an idol show (he says, having not seen LoveLive nor Idolm@ster), with a diverse cast of girls all trying to be the best for their fans. While I don't think this show is exactly going to enjoy LoveLive levels of success, as I've said - you can see the heart it has. Some individual moments were also very strange - like a flashback where one girl loses a tennis match because a bug flew in her face, and another girl talks to her imagined anthropomorphizations of model trains. If you're into the nostalgia of hero/heroine shows, this plays right into that. Otherwise, it's a show you can pretty easily avoid.

[vacationimpossible]

Frozen Sun

Everyone seems obsessed with weather and climate right now and I don’t blame them. A fractured polar vortex (and climate change) has plunged much of North American into record cold over the last few days and weeks depending on which part of the continent you’re looking at.

Here in Vancouver it’s cold but thus far has been mercifully dry. The sun shines, the air is crisp and clear, and the sky is blue. It’s not uncommon to dream of warmer climates and travel destinations while looking into the crisp blue sky.

It’s the time of year for this kind of thing. About a year ago I was at the Vancouver airport watching the snow fall wondering how badly my flight would be delayed due to the need for de-icing.

I’m glad it’s not snowing but all told I think I’d rather be doing that because I would have somewhere nice to go, in that case it was Los Angeles and then on to Mexico on the Carnival Splendor.

But, being Travel Guy, its not like I don’t have plans. I always have plans. In this case I plan to head south this coming weekend.

Unfortunately not very far south. Walla Walla Washington to be specific.

There are a variety of reasons for going including an inexpensive hotel and it being within a day’s drive.

Therein lays the potential problem because if it does snow on our neighbours to the south there is a small chance the roads to get there and/or back could be closed.

Walla Walla Washington – that’s fun to say, isn’t it? Sounds like somewhere Bugs Bunny would go.

Anyways, another reason we’re going that way, beyond the fact that we’ve never been there before, is that to get there we pass through an historic city called Ellensburg where we plan to stop for a lunch or two. It’s a small city with a little over 20,000 residents and is the most centrally located city in the state.

We haven’t been to Ellensburg before either. So, a couple new things on this trip. Apparently, they have an historic downtown area that is something to see. They have some museums and galleries, but we likely won’t have time for those on a quick weekend getaway. The climate is described as “cool semi-arid” with average lows of -5°C in February – for comparison Vancouver’s average low in February is 2°C.

This may not have been the best plan. I’m beginning to see why the hotel was inexpensive. Thankfully Walla Walla’s average low is right at the freezing mark so perhaps we’ll be okay. Walla Walla is a gold rush town but apparently boasts an impressive Main street.

They say Walla Walla is “a town so nice they named it twice” but the name actually means “Place Of Many Waters”.

Let us hope many waters do not descend from the sky.

And if they do, that they are not frozen.

Kidding aside, apparently Walla Walla has some excellent vineyards that gave rise to top tier restaurants.

We’ll check it out and report back if Walla Walla and Ellensburg are worth a visit so stay tuned.

[sarahjane0886]

The Road to Us 21

"Book 3 - Til the End of Time - Chapter 9 - Vanilla, Chocolate, Surprise!

"We have the pictures of the cakes we liked right?" Peta asked Maks as they headed out of the house to go to the cake designer they chose.

"We sent them to both of our emails." Maks reminded her.

"Oh yeah, we did." She laughed as she got settled in the car.

"I gotcha pretty girl. So how about we go out tonight Miss Birthday girl." He said squeezing her hand as they pulled out of the driveway and headed to downtown.

"If you want." She said softly.

"Babe, it's your birthday. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just happy and content and so I just, I'm good with just doing something at home with you." She said smiling at him.

"Well I love you sweetheart and I'm glad you feel that way. I feel the same but I still would like to take you out. Please? Nothing fancy, just us and somewhere simple."

"If you want to handsome. We can. I just didn't want you to have to think you have to take me anywhere."

"I want to though, okay?" He said leaning over to kiss her as he pulled into an open parking spot. They got out and headed into the cake shop they had chosen, Vanilla Bake Shop.

"Hello, I'm Callie, how can I help you today?" A cheerful redhead greeted them.

"Hello, we have an appointment to discuss a wedding cake." Maks said as he stuck his hand out.

"Oh yes, Chmerkovskiy."

"Wow, you said that perfectly." Maks smiled at the girl.

"I may have watched DWTS a time or two. I'm very happy for the two of you. I must admit I was one of your supporters. Let me take you back to Kate though, she's in charge of the wedding cakes and the design. I know she's waiting for you as well." Callie said as she led them back to the back room where they were met with an amazing display of cakes as well as many other pictures filling the room.

"Hello, I'm Kate." A older lady said as she stood up to great them.

"Hi, I'm Maks and this is Peta." Maks introduced as they took a seat across from the table.

"It's so nice to meet you two. I'm so excited to be able to help you with this."

"Thank you for agreeing to fit us in. We know this is quite the rush." Peta said smiling happily.

"It's no problem. We are definitely more than happy to help. Now do you two have any ideas or are we starting with a clean slate?"

"Well we have some ideas. We're going with a classical romantic fairytale feel. Our colors are shades of purple and gray. And our flowers are mainly calla lilies with some other fillers and a minimal amount of stargazer lilies."

"And we do have pictures of cakes we liked." Maks said pulling his phone out so that they could show her. She looked over the pictures for awhile.

"Okay, these are definitely some things we can work with. Now do you know if you want a large tiered cake to feed everyone or do you want a cake for you guys and then cupcakes or mini cupcakes?"

"Umm, I don't know that we thought those were options." Peta said slightly thrown off.

"Well, it's definitely something newer. People have started doing cupcakes rather than cake for everyone. Now we can still make a cake that looks tiered, the top layer would be real and then the bottom would just be made to look real and fit in the with cake. And you two can either choose to cut from the top or from a cupcake."

"I....well....." Peta said.

"You made her speechless." Maks laughed as he looked at Peta.

"Shush you." Peta said looking at him.

"I'm shushed, but that means you have to chose. I'm good either way pretty girl."

"Well, if you are, maybe let's do the cupcakes then. That gives us some flavor varieties too right?"

"Of course, that's another reason people choose it. We can do more flavors that way. And it relieves having to have people cut the cake and pass it out. Once you guys are done you can tell the guests that they are more than welcome to come choose a cupcake." Kate explained.

"Okay, so now what do we need to chose if we go with that." Peta asked.

"Well, you'll need to pick your flavor, and then the cupcake flavors as well as the icing flavor and how you want it decorated."

"Okay, we can handle this. I'm officially un-shushing you." Peta said looking at Maks with a wink.

"Let's do flavors. That always seems to be easiest. How many flavors would you like to do for the cupcakes?" And so the next two hours were spent tasting flavors and icings before the two picked everything they needed to. They went with 6 flavors for the cupcakes, and then went with simple vanilla bean for theirs with white buttercream icing. For the main cake, the decided that they would do a circle shape with four tiers. There would be simple pearl like beading in a decorated pattern around the cake. There would be a purple ribbon that swirled down the side with a waterfall of calla lilies. The cupcakes with be decorated tiny calla lilies as well. They left feeling quite accomplished.

"You know, I knew there was alot of details for weddings, but I didn't realize just how many." Maks said looking at Peta as he led her to the car.

"I know, it's kinda of exhausting. Which, I hate to ask this but....." She trailed off looking at him.

"It's okay, go ahead." He said knowing what she was going to say. He had saw the exhaustion start to show on her face.

"I don't want to ruin our night but can we maybe go home for a little bit first?" She said softly.

"You're not ruining it pretty girl. It's your birthday so you get to pick. What do you say we go home and you can nap, then we can go get a late dinner or maybe just dessert? We could just go down to the beach for a little bit." He offered as he started to head them home.

"I think I choose the dessert and beach option but only if you'll lay with me til I'm asleep." She said as her fingers wound through his.

"That is definitely something I can handle." He winked at her. So that's what they did, they headed home and she laid down for awhile before they had dinner at their house. Afterwards they headed down to the Grove and picked up some dessert before they headed over to the beach to sit for a bit.

"You missed our usual spot." Peta said as Maks drove past the spot where they usually entered the beach.

"I....oh....you're right. I did. There's another spot down here, we should be able to use that one too." Maks said as he parked his car.

"But....okay." She said looking at him confused.

"I know, that's our spot but let's just see what's out here. If we don't like it we'll go back." He said as he got their desserts out of the car and a blanket. He slipped his arm around her and they headed up the dunes. Once they got over the dunes it was clear that the spot was already in use by a party.

"Maks we can't go here. There's already people here." Peta protested as he continued leading her toward the tent.

"Do you trust me?" He said looking at her cheekily.

"What? Of course I do but we can't crash a party!" She said laughing.

"We're not." He said leading her to the tent and pulling back the curtain.

"Happy birthday!" A whole mess of their family and friends chorused as they headed inside.

"Oh my god." Peta said as she griped onto Maks.

"Happy birthday pretty girl." He said as he looked down at her shocked face.

"Maksim Chmerkovskiy." She said looking at him.

"Wait before you yell, I didn't plan all this. I was just in charge of getting you here." He said with wide eyes.

"Who?

"Can you handle one more surprise?" He asked.

"Happy birthday baby." A soft voice said behind her.

"No....." She said looking at Maks with tears in her eyes.

"Turn around and see." He said as he gently turned her body.

"Mom." Peta said as she stood there shocked.

"I missed you." Suzanne said holding her arms open to her baby. Peta finally let go of Maks and moved toward her mother who wrapped her in a tight hug.

"How?" Peta said as she held tight to her mother.

"Well, Larissa and I decided that we wanted to come out for a little bit before the wedding. We wanted to be able to throw you a shower and well we decided this was the best way to do it. We just had to have Maks help us a little bit."

"Wait Momma?" Peta asked as she pulled back from her mother to look for Maks's mother who she found standing next to her husband.

"Happy birthday sweetheart" Larissa said smiling at her soon to be daughter in law. Peta moved to her next and hugged her tight. When she was done she finally looked and Maks and put her hands on her hips.

"I can not believe you kept this from me! You're lucky I love you!" She said as she huffed as him before letting him pull her in for a hug and kiss which elicited cheers from the group that Peta had forgotten was there.

"I love you pretty girl. Happy birthday."

"Come on you two, let's get this party going." Suzanne said as she started to lead the couple toward the rest of the group. They followed her and Larissa and spent the rest of the night celebrating Peta's birthday and then the wedding as well as they had done like Suzanne said and combined the two into one huge party. The next few hours hours were spent playing games, talking, opening gifts for the couple, and celebrating. They had a blast with their family and friends that were there and most of all the both enjoyed some special time with their mothers.

*And that's it for this update. If no one has any requests on any wedding details I missed then the next one will be the rehearsal dinner as well as the night prior to the wedding. Please don't forget to like this one up and let me know what you thought. Thank you for reading and Merry Christmas Eve to everyone! Love you all!

[anavoliselenu]

freedom chapter 6

I held Selena's small hand in mine as we cut our massive, five tiered, gold-embellished wedding cake that stood on a table in the middle of the room.

There was a loud roar of applause from around us.

"Do you want some?" Selena asked me, holding up a small piece of cake.

I took a bite and chewed before feeding her some.

To my surprise, I was actually having fun at my wedding. This was a time for me to forget the stress and all the bullshit. Alice was making it incredibly easy to just enjoy the wedding. She was a beast with the preparations, and nothing was out of place as the ceremony drifted seamlessly into the reception under the large white tent on the other side of the yard. Everyone took pictures, and I had seen some of them already. A rare smile was on my face, and it was kind of strange to see.

It looked like Selena was enjoying herself as well, which was my main goal. I would have given her the big, white wedding if that's what she wanted, but I was glad she didn't. This was better; small, intimate, and personal. This was also the first joyful occasion after Niccola's funeral and to have it amongst family was special to me.

All the normal rituals were kept from our first dance, to the speeches, to a fancy Italian dinner that was done superbly, and then Carlisle's important wedding toast, which was very profound and heartfelt. It was perfect.

Sometime around midnight, I took my bride's hand and led her out of the tent with the party still raging inside.

"That wasn't too bad," she said, swinging our hands between us.

"I think it went quite well. No one died, and I actually kept my cool."

"And Charlie was there. That made it special. Did he talk to you?"

"Not really. I think he wanted to, but then chickened out. He said he wanted nothing to do with me, so I guess that's fair."

I hated to admit that I was like a normal, newly married, son-in-law. Should I try to impress him? Should I just let him warm up to me? Should I just have "the talk" with him now? I didn't know any of the answers.

"He's just in shock," Selena assured me. "I'm just glad he came, even if he wasn't too happy with my choice of groom."

"That can't be helped. I'm not going anywhere." I stopped walking and pressed my lips to hers.

"I'm an official Justin now." She grinned. "What do you think of that?"

"I think the name suits you."

"It finally happened. We're married." We continued to walk back towards the house. "Did you ever think we would get there?"

"I knew we would. It was just a matter of when."

"Oh, please," she scoffed. "You sound confident now, but I distinctively remember you being just as nervous as me at one point."

"I don't think so," I protested. "You must be remembering wrong."

"Okay, Mr. Justin."

We walked through the back door of the silent house, and I flipped on the lights, illuminating the family room.

"Selena, Justin!" I heard being called from the backyard.

Esme ran into the house, out of breath.

"Hi, Mom." I said.

"I just wanted to come in here and tell you how sorry I am about what I said in Italy. I had no right to say those things. I was mad and…I'm sorry."

I looked to Selena because this was their fight. I was still mad at my mother, even though I never really said anything.

"Um, well thank you for that." She replied, "It's nice to hear that. It's still going to take me some time to calm down."

"I know. I crossed a line and I shouldn't have even brought the baby up. I just…snapped. I know we have things to work out, but I wanted to tell you that before Carlisle and I left." She hugged the both of us awkwardly before going back out into the backyard.

"That was…strange." I said.

"I still haven't forgiven her yet fully."

"Don't. That was a half-ass apology. She can do better." I wrapped my arms around Selena's waist, "Have I told you how stunning you look?" I said, trying to change the subject.

"About ten times already." Selena laughed. "But it never hurts to hear it again."

"Well, you do."

"Thank you. And you look dashing in this tux. Incredibly handsome."

"I do try." I led her up the stairs and into our bedroom. "I know we said we weren't doing gifts, but I had to get you something."

"Justin, no," she argued. "I don't need anything else. All of this is enough. You built me a house. That serves as a present for the next couple of anniversaries, birthdays, and Christmases."

"I couldn't help myself." I went into the closet and pulled out the large white box on the top shelf, where Selena couldn't reach. I brought it back into the bedroom.

"What is this?" She took the box from me and sat it on the bed.

"Open it."

She pulled the top off and unwrapped the paper. "Wow. A fur coat?"

"I figured since you're now a mob wife, you should have the quintessential 'Mob Wife Fur'. It's mink. And the animals were already dead when they were skinned. Just in case you have a problem with it; I wasn't sure."

Selena took the pure white coat out of box, and it fell to the floor. "No, it's beautiful. I don't know if I would ever wear it, though."

"If you want to be the most bad ass wife in Chicago, you will have to wear it." I took the coat from her and put it around her shoulders. It fit perfectly.

"It's heavy." She ran her hands along the collar.

"And it's not hot so you can even wear it in the summer."

"Cici would be proud." Selena examined herself in the mirror on the wall.

"She helped me pick it out." I laughed, "No one knows furs like Cici."

"Well, thank you for this. It was very thoughtful. And I'll have to get you something later since I thought we were actually sticking to the rules this time."

"When I have I ever asked you to return a gift? I don't expect anything."

"So… there's nothing I can repay you with?" She started to undo my bowtie from around my neck and then the buttons on my shirt.

"Well, I might be able to think of a few things, Mrs. Justin."

That night, we christened our marriage bed, ten times over.

My rimmed glasses sat low on my nose as I lied in bed, reading through Sun Tzu's The Art of War for the tenth time in a month. I had been attached to this book like it was a part of my own body. Whenever I had free time, I was either reading this or making devious plans in my head that would probably send me into the far depths of hell. I was okay with that.

This book had become my lifeline, teaching me and guiding my decisions. I was learning everything I could before Carlisle left, which just happened to be in a couple of days. Then it would be my turn to take the reins.

I let my eyes scan the page again, but I wasn't really reading the words. By now, I knew the maxims by heart and could pick out the most important ones at the drop of a hat.

All warfare is based on deception.

Speed is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness; travel by unexpected routes and strike him where he has taken no precautions.

Management of many is the same as management of few. It is a matter of organization.

I found these to be the ones that stuck with me. I first read the book when I was fourteen and back then, it didn't make much of an impression on me. Now I read it all the time. Sun Tzu's principles had a way of being so deceitful and strategically planned. I loved that.

The bathroom door opened, and Selena came out with freshly braided hair, smelling of lilac shampoo. The steam from the shower filled our room with scents and I took a deep breath, trying to convince myself that I wasn't creepy.

"Are you reading that book again?" Selena pulled off the towel from around her naked body.

"It's a classic," I said.

She went into the closet and came out a couple seconds later in one of my college shirts with 'Dartmouth' plastered across the chest. "You'll turn into Sun Tzu if you keep at it."

"If only I could. He was a genius. I'll be lucky to be half the man he was."

"Wow. I don't hear you speaking so highly of people every day."

"Don't get me wrong, if he was alive I would stomp his ass into the ground, but he did write one hell of a book."

Selena climbed onto the large bed and snuggled under the covers. "Are you nervous about when Carlisle leaves?"

I put the book on the nightstand and turned towards her. "I was, but I'm ready now. I've been waiting for too long. I'm ready."

"I think everyone's excited. Or anxious, maybe. They're waiting to see what you'll do."

"I can't wait to fucking dominate," I said with eagerness.

It felt weird talking about this kind of thing with my wife…

Just to say it, "my wife", felt strange. I now had a wife? I would have never thought.

Our wedding was just three days ago, and it was almost as if we hadn't gone through the motions at all. Nothing felt different. Was that a good thing? Carlisle said it was just the fact that we were already an old married couple. Still, the papers were signed and Isabella Swan was now Isabella Justin.

I had to smile at that.

Renee and Phil had left yesterday on account of baseball spring training starting and they couldn't hang around. I didn't know how much more of Renee I could take, anyway. She was… a lot, almost worse than, Alice. But Alice knew when she was being too much and backed off. Renee just kept going. Of course, I would never say anything to her, but I sometimes had to sneak off for a smoke when her stories began to grate on my nerves. She had so many questions and always seemed to find me when I hid out. Thankfully, Renee had good intentions, so it wasn't like you could get mad at her. She was just hyperactive.

Charlie still wasn't speaking to me. He was just like Selena; silent, stoic, strong, but spirited. Neither of them talked much, but when they did, the impact was there. Charlie was the type of man who demanded your attention. Of course, there was the small fact that he hated my guts, but that was to be expected. I was ready for that.

I was probably never going to make him think that I was a good man for his daughter, no matter how much I argued otherwise. In his eyes, it was almost as if I didn't exist. We didn't speak more than five words to each other, but I planned on changing that.

"I'm taking Charlie golfing tomorrow before he leaves," I told Selena.

Her eyes went wide. "Alone?"

"No, Carlisle volunteered himself to chaperone."

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Justin. You can't change Charlie's mind with a simple golf trip."

The bed shifted as Francis jumped up on the covers next to Selena and curled up for a long night's sleep. She started to pet his head, and his eyes closed. I tried to shake off the uneasiness I felt with him on my bed.

"I know that, but I want to show him that I'm at least making an effort." I refocused myself on the conversation.

"Oh, God." She groaned and rolled onto her back. "You're going to kill my father, aren't you?"

"I'm not going to fight with him. That won't solve anything and I'm determined to win him over without showing my true colors."

Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting. Another one of Sun Tzu's quotes that might come in handy later.

"What do you plan on accomplishing by this?" Selena asked me.

"Not much. I just don't want you to have to choose between us. On the road that Charlie and I are headed down we might never talk to each other and that'll just make it more awkward as the years go on."

"Well, thank you for making an effort, but don't expect him to just accept you. He still won't even really talk to me." She sighed. "What if he never forgives me? And then I won't even…"

I silenced her worrying with a gentle kiss. She eventually melted into my advances.

The next morning, I was up early and in the shower, ready for the golf outing with my father-in-law. I was determined to make him see that I wasn't some outrageous maniac. He was under the impression that I had no self-control and Selena was in danger by being married to me. That was what irked me the most. Did he really think that I would harm her? He knew the rumors of my questionable dealings, but it wasn't like he ever asked me about them. I might have actually told him the truth.

I had heard from Selena that Charlie liked to golf and fish. There was no way in hell I was getting on some fucking boat with smelly fish, so I figured the golf course was my best bet. As much as I despised the country club and everyone in it, I realized that I would just have to suck it up.

Even though I was trying to be as positive as possible, I could just tell that today was going to test my patience.

Selena was waiting downstairs with breakfast when I sat at the table.

"Don't you look properly preppy." She tried not to laugh at my outfit, which consisted of khakis, a pale blue golfing shirt, and a fucking cap to match.

"It's just for a couple of hours," I said mostly to myself. "I can do this. I'm trying to act more like a regular person. Regular people go golfing."

"I think you look so cute." She snorted, picking Francis up off the ground and placing him in her lap.

"Can you put him down?" I asked, sipping my coffee. "I can't look at him while I'm eating."

She fed him a piece of sausage that he gobbled up greedily. "He's as much a part of this family as you are."

"Bullshit," I grumbled. "When are we going to put up signs? He belongs to someone."

She shrugged, warding off my question without saying anything. Thankfully for her, Alec plopped down in a chair and started loading his plate up with food. He was dressed similarly to me, but mostly in pink.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" I asked him.

"Carlisle said we're going golfing," he replied. "He called it a man day."

"Damn," I said. How was I supposed to get on Charlie's good side with my psycho family around?

Half an hour later, Alec and I were in my Saleen with golfing equipment packed into the trunk. The country club was about twenty minutes away and reminded me of the watering hole on safari. It was the cesspool of gossip, where ladies in big hats giggled inappropriately at those less fortunate than them, and businessmen closed deals on the sixth hole.

It was more of tradition than anything else to be a part of the exclusive club, but I hated it so fucking much. No one ever got me there. Everyone fawned over Emmett and Jasper for being the "perfect" Justin kids. I was the outcast and a pariah. I was actually okay with that. As long as people left me the fuck alone, they could talk all they wanted. I had more money and more prestige than any of those yuppy club members anyway.

The unseasonably warm weather made it the perfect day for golf; bright blue sky, billowing white clouds, freshly mowed grass, a hot sun. It all made me sick.

I pulled through the large, iron gates of the club and valets swarmed the car as I stopped. They pulled out the golfing things and immediately put them to the side.

"If there's a one fucking scratch on it, I'll have you fired, and then come to your house to shoot you," I told one valet and handed him my keys. He nodded shakily.

"There you are, Justin," Carlisle's voice said from behind me. "We were waiting."

Emmett, Jasper, and Charlie were already situated in a golf cart on the path. Charlie was glaring at me and turned his head.

I sighed heavily, "Just play the part, Justin."

"He's better than he was at the wedding. I think it has something to do with the fact that he's leaving today." Carlisle patted my shoulder. "It's only an hour. You can do that."

I nodded and situated myself into the driver's seat of a golf cart. Carlisle sat next to me, and Alec hopped on the back. Emmett took off, speeding onto the course ahead of me.

By the time we got to the fourth hole, his one word answers to my questions had subsided to grunts. He seemed to be getting along with Carlisle quite well, which surprised me. They actually discussed sports and TV shows. The cop and the mob boss in a civil conversation. Who would have thought?

Charlie acted like I wasn't even here.

I just leaned on my golf club and tapped my fingers until I could swing at something.

"What the hell is up your ass?" Emmett asked me.

"Nothing," I snapped. "Leave me alone."

"Oh, is poor Eddie sad because Charlie won't play with him?" he said in a baby voice.

"Shut the fuck up." I hit his shin with my gold club.

"Ouch." He hopped around. "Don't be mad at me because he hates you."

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked rhetorically. "I have a job and money; I treat her like a fucking queen, and I take care of her. I don't ever complain because I really do love her. I'm a catch."

"Yes, you are," Emmett placated me in jest. "I would marry you. But you're marrying his only daughter. Of course he's going to be pissed at you."

"You and Jasper are so lucky. Rose's father hates her and Alice's is dead."

"I'm good with fathers. They love me. You just don't give off that vibe."

"There must be some way to win him over."

"Leave it alone for a couple of years."

Our conversation was interrupted by the group of men behind us. "Hey! What's the hold up?"

"We're golfing, jackass," I shouted at him.

"We've been waiting for the past ten minutes to use this hole."

"Well, wait longer."

Carlisle was good at a lot of things, but golfing wasn't one of them. We usually had to spend an extra hour on the course just for him to get done. That caused a lot of problems on days like today, when people were waiting behind us.

I already wasn't in a good mood, so when the man from the other group got out of his cart to come over, I was doing my best to just stay calm. I moved on the other side of Emmett so I wouldn't be tempted to kill this guy.

"There is a certain cycle to golf, in case you didn't know. We can't just wait for half an hour for this dipshit to hurry up," he said.

"Sir, we're leaving in a second. Just go sit back down," Emmett replied, calmly and rationally. I just stayed silent.

"We've been behind you for more than a reasonable amount of time. Either get it together, or move the fuck on." The guy was fat and balding. Along with his two friends, they made a collection of wheezing old men who had nothing better to do but golf.

Carlisle finally hit the ball, sending it into the hole, and we were able to move on. Once again, on the way down the green, I thought of a way to get to Charlie.

"So, how are you liking Chicago so far?" I asked him as Jasper lined up his ball to putt.

"It's too big and filthy. Selena doesn't need to live in a place like this," he replied curtly, wiggling his mustache in disgust.

"I think she loves it here," Carlisle interjected. "She's adjusted quite well."

"Selena belongs back in Forks."

"She doesn't like it in Forks," I said.

Charlie turned to me. "She liked it before you took her."

"I didn't take her. She chose to live here."

"You brainwasher her!"

"Justin, let it go." Carlisle stepped in between us and pulled Charlie off to the side.

"That went well," Emmett chuckled as I put a ball down to putt. I twisted my torso and swung the club, sending the ball flying down the green.

We watched as it plopped down near the hole and bounced a couple of times.

Alec whistled. "Damn."

"Impressive." Jasper nodded.

Charlie just huffed and crossed his arms.

"Oh, great. These fuckers again." I heard the rude man from before.

It was as if no one either cared or wasn't paying attention to him except me. While everyone conversed amongst themselves, I took the opportunity to say something.

"Look, we're having a good time on the green and I don't need your mouth messing it up," I said right in front of his face.

The man made his first mistake when he rolled his eyes. He made his second when he put his hands on my shoulders and shoved me backwards.

"We want to golf. I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I will have your membership revoked if you hold us up any longer."

I was too angry to actually say something. Besides, actions speak louder than words.

"You better fucking know how I am." I took the golf club in my hands and swung it at his cart, smashing the glass on the front, "I'm Justin Justin, you motherfucking. If you ever put your hands on me, I'll do a lot more than break your fucking cart."

"Alright, that's enough." Emmett pushed me in the opposite direction.

"I'm sure as hell not done with you." I tried to get out of his grasp and attack that man again, but Alec held me down in the cart as Emmett sped off down the path.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Emmett asked angrily. "You're going to get your ass in jail."

"Did you hear the way he was talking to me? Let me out of here!" I struggled against Alec.

"What are you going to do, kill him in front of Charlie?"

That kind of made me calm down somewhat. I probably already caused too much of a scene. I completely forgot he was even there.

"Shit." I pulled at my hair in frustration.

"You can't keep doing this, Justin. Get your anger in check," Emmett scolded me. "You have to use your brain. There's a time for force and a time to just shut up."

"Since when did you become so thoughtful?"

"Since I grew up." He parked the cart in front of the club and turned to me. "If you're going to lead this family then you need to us a little more tact."

"Should I… apologize to him?" I asked through my teeth.

"Maybe it would be just best to let him leave without seeing Charlie again. The next trip might be better." Alec patted my shoulder before getting out of the back.

I tapped my foot on the sidewalk as I waited for the valet to pull my car around.

I shouldn't have lost my cool back there, but I knew this was going to happen. Returning to Chicago was no good for me. Old Justin was hot tempered and aggressive. He had social skills on the surface, but absolutely no tolerance for stupidity thus making it very hard for him to actually interact with anyone. He went from zero to one hundred in a second without any middle ground. Thankfully, Selena was able to put up with him but not many other people could.

"Here's your car, sir." The valet held the door open for me as I slid into the seat. Alec got in after me.

I took off over the gravel driveway and peeled out onto the street.

"Selena just called me. She asked us to pick up a few things from the grocery store," Alec said.

"Did you tell her what happened?"

"No, I figured you would. It's not even that bad. I mean, you didn't beat up Charlie or anything. You just lost your temper."

"Yeah, but what does that look like to him? He probably thinks I abuse her or something," I groaned.

"Probably," Alec chuckled. "She'd just beat you right back, though."

It didn't take me long at all to pull into the local grocery store about fifteen minutes from the house. For some reason, it was packed. Every spot was taken and I circled through each lane, trying to look for somewhere to place the car.

"Must be some kind of sale going on," Alec observed.

"Just keep an eye out for a space."

I inched along slowly and was determined to stifle the impatience that was starting to creep up. I had already blown up once today. I think I reached my limit. I almost held it in… That was until someone honked their horn behind me. It was more of an obnoxious blaring than a honk and held a certain amount of anger from the driver.

I glared into the rearview mirror at the small, black, vintage car that was nearly on my bumper.

"Who the hell does this guy think he is?" I rolled down the window and looked behind me. Upon further inspection, I saw that it was a woman, but she had a scowl on her face that was threatening to burn holes through my back windshield.

She honked again rather rudely and flicked me off.

It wasn't like I could go any faster so I kept tip-toeing along through the lot, trying to find a space. The woman behind me was beeping like a crazy person and each blast jabbed at my brain like an icepick.

"Justin, don't start," Alec warned when he saw my hands holding the steering wheel like a vice grip.

"Tell her to shut the fuck up," I snarled.

She just kept honking.

Thankfully, a spot opened up. It was directly opposite the front door of the store, and I sighed in relief when the car backed out, leaving it free.

As I lightly touched the accelerator pedal, the black car sped around and screeched into the spot that was rightfully mine.

No the hell…

The car was a vintage, 1971 Porsche convertible. I knew that because Carlisle had one just like it in white. He used it as a showpiece, though. I had never even seen the thing fire up.

The middle-aged lady got out of the car with her nose turned up and slammed the door shut.

"Uh, excuse me." I spoke out of the window. "Can you move, please? I was about to park there."

"No, I won't move. I got it first. I'm sorry."

"Please, just move your car."

"You drive too slow. I can't help that."

I snapped.

"I know damn well you saw me getting ready to take this spot."

Zero to one hundred!

"I saw you," She threw her bag over her shoulder, "and I took it."

"Please move your little black car before I move it for you." I was willing myself to stay seated.

"Justin, just let it go," Alec whispered.

I turned to him. "Shut up. Lady, move your car."

She smirked and then took off towards the store.

I wasn't above shooting this woman. Normally, I would be the gentleman and let her have the spot, but she had to be a bitch about it. She wasn't getting away from me now.

"Excuse me!" I shouted out of the window and inched the car up next to her. "Maybe you didn't hear me, but I was waiting for that spot just like you were."

She kept walking, and I kept moving slowly forward. "Well, it's my spot now. You drive like an old man."

"Lady, I'm trying very hard not to run you over right now. Go move your car." I was almost at the entrance to the store and if need be, I would drive right through the motherfucking glass. People were smartly moving out of my way.

She flipped me the bird again before slipping inside, leaving my car idling in the entryway.

Has she lost her mind?

"Justin, let's just go to the other grocery store down the street," Alec suggested.

"This woman is going to make me tear the sign off of this store," I said angrily.

"We just talked about anger management with Emmett. You've got to be calm."

I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel, debating on what to do. I could easily let this go and just drive off. Unfortunately, that was a Carlisle type move.

"Are you buckled up?" I asked Alec.

"Oh, God. Not today." He braced himself.

In homage to Nicola, I threw the car in reverse and backed up at an unhealthy speed. The back of my Saleen connected with her small convertible, and the windows shattered on contact. The side was dented in and made it almost unrecognizable. I pulled forward, and then reversed again, slamming into her car a second time.

By now, it was totaled, and I felt a hell of a lot better. People were gawking, but I didn't care.

"Was that fun for you?" Alec was panting loudly as I pulled out of the parking lot.

"Very. She could have avoided all that if she'd just listen to me."

"You couldn't let her have the spot?"

"Cowards die many times before their actual deaths," I quoted.

"I don't care about Sun Tzu… or whatever the hell is name was."

"That was Julius Caesar and I'm in no way a coward."

By the time I turned off the car in the driveway, I was almost giddy. It must have had something to do with all the pent up anger I'd just released.

"Don't say a word to Selena." I got out of the car and went inside.

Francis trotted up and practically begged me to pet his head. He sat at my feet and just to see how it felt, I bent down and lightly rubbed him between the ears.

I immediately withdrew my hand and shuddered from the feeling of filth.

I went into the kitchen where Selena was seated, reading the paper. I washed my hands in scolding hot water.

"You just missed Charlie," she said.

"He came by the house?" I asked, not turning around to look at her.

"Yeah, he said he had a great time with you guys."

"Really?" Alec questioned in surprise, carrying Francis in his arms. "He didn't…"

"What did he say?" I cut him off.

"Nothing." She shrugged. "He just said he can't wait to do it again. He thinks you have a lot to learn about golf. So you two had a good time?"

I kissed her. "It was a perfect day for golfing."

The next few days passed very quickly since I was locked in a room with Carlisle, learning everything I could. I hadn't slept for more than an hour each night; I didn't have the time to waste. I sat with Emmett, Jasper, and Alec, trying to get them on board with me taking over. They were surprisingly more accepting to me leading than I thought. I figured Emmett would protest the most, but he didn't say a word. He just provided insight when I asked for it and seemed supportive.

My "coronation" was set. Carlisle and Esme were to leave within a couple hours of me taking over. I assumed they couldn't wait to get the hell out. The both of them had been in this life for decades and a break was much needed. I didn't blame them.

The night before, I didn't sleep one wink and just stared up at the ceiling.

Is this really what I wanted?

Of course it was. I had been trained for this my whole life. I was a machine who had the perfect instincts and abilities for this; more so than Carlisle or any of my brothers. I was ready.

The sun rose around six that morning, and I let out a deep breath. Just as I rolled out of bed, the alarm clock rang and Selena shut it off before sitting up.

There was a weird sense of anticipation that hung in the air between us.

I held my head in my hands and said a silent prayer for guidance. There was no turning back.

"You ready?" Selena's arms wrapped around my from behind.

"Yes." I answered clearly without a hint of wavering.

We showered together, giving nothing more than light touches with soothing hands.

My suit was made of the finest material and fit me like a glove. I knotted one of Nicola's red ties around my neck and made sure it was securely in place. I had never used this particular tie, but he gave it to me when I was thirteen after making me promise that I would wear it if this day ever came.

Selena's dress matched my tie, and we looked very polished as we sat at the kitchen table, silently sipping coffee. Alec joined us shortly after in a pressed black suit with his hair styled for once.

At nine o'clock sharp, we walked into Carlisle's house. I gave Selena a kiss that lasted longer than it probably should have before climbing the stairs to his office.

He was seated at his desk, waiting.

"Good morning, Justin." He grinned. "Are you ready?"

Stop asking me that!

"Yes." I nodded and sat across from him.

"You will have full control over the Justin dealings, real estate, finances, and all our holdings internationally once I leave the country, which is in about…" he checked his watch "…three hours. There's no backing out."

"I'm well versed on what I'm about to do."

"Good."

Carlisle dug through his desk and placed three items in front of me. The first was a small pistol, the second was a dagger, and the third was the image of a saint printed on a simple piece of paper. It looked like St. Peter. I groaned quietly as the first Pope stared up at me from the page and tried to look away from him.

"Then we can begin." Carlisle stood up and placed his hands on the desk. "Can you please write for me the Ten Commandments of a Mafioso." He pushed the image of Peter towards me and turned it over.

I took the fountain pen next to me and started to write with a steady hand:

No one can present himself directly to another of our friends. There must be a third person to do it.

Never look at the wives of friends.

Never be seen with cops.

Don't go to pubs and clubs.

Always being available for Cosa Nostra is a duty - even if your wife is about to give birth.

Appointments must absolutely be respected.

Wives must be treated with respect.

When asked for any information, the answer must be the truth.

Money cannot be appropriated if it belongs to others or to other families.

People who can't be part of Cosa Nostra: anyone who has a close relative in the police, anyone with a two-timing relative in the family, anyone who behaves badly and doesn't hold to moral values.

I set the pen down and pushed the page back towards Carlisle. He read it over quickly before nodding. "Good."

Of course, these rules were never set in stone and sometimes they had to be broken, but it was a code that I should strive to live by. Obviously, there was nothing we could do about number ten. I didn't give a fuck who Selena's father was; she chose me, and her father's occupation couldn't be helped. He was retiring soon, anyway.

The door opened behind me. Alec, Jasper, and Emmett stood next to Carlisle, staring me down like I was on trial. They took turns questioning my commitment and my feelings regarding criminality and murder, despite them already knowing my history. All the while, the pistol was pointed at my head and would be fired if I answered a question wrong. Tradition was kept.

I affirmed myself, Justin Anthony Justin, Mafioso of the Justin family.

I stood up and Carlisle took my right hand in his, turning it palm side up. He pricked my finger and smeared my blood over the face of St. Peter.

"Selena, you can come in now," Carlisle called.

Her heels made soft noises on the carpet as she walked slowly up next to me.

"Isabella Justin, are you prepared to stand by your husband in his ventures and support him in every way you can?" he asked her.

She nodded. "Yes."

"Perfect." He passed her a match and gave me the image of the saint.

I held it up for her to light, and we watched it burn in my hands.

"Justin Justin, if you betray Cosa Nostra, your flesh will burn like this saint." Carlisle spoke with finality.

I threw the paper on the floor and stomped out the flames until they were nothing more than embers.

"Shots!" Alec broke the awkward tension and ran towards Carlisle stash of expensive liquor.

"Is that all?" Selena asked me.

"Yeah, that's all."

"I'm so fucking proud of you." She hugged me tightly.

It took me a second to regain my motor functions, but I wrapped my arms around her when I did.

We pulled away from each other, and she took my pricked finger into her mouth, sucking the blood away from my small wound.

The deal was done when Emmett, Jasper, Alec, Carlisle, and I downed one shot of strong Italian vodka.

I was the Boss.

SELENA POV

"Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain... To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices - today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it."-Kevyn Aucoin

All things Twilight related belong to Stephanie Meyer.

No, this can't be happening right now.

I stood, banging my head against the cold wall in the bathroom. I took deep breaths and tried to think rationally, but it was hard to convince myself of anything other than the truth when it was staring at me in the face.

Ten pregnancy tests were lined up on the counter all with some form of "positive". There were two lines, pink dots, plus symbols, and even the word 'pregnant' on one of them. There was no denying it.

I was going to have a baby.

Besides all the physical evidence, I could feel it. There was something growing inside of me, and I was holding back a flood of emotions that were threatening to break the dam I had built after losing Elizabeth. I couldn't do this again. Not yet. I wasn't ready.

I realized that something was off about a week ago after Justin's coronation. I was so tired and just felt… off. I was always hungry, and no matter how much I ate, I always wanted more. I knew what that meant. But I didn't say anything or tell anyone because I wasn't sure yet. I definitely had an answer to my questions four days ago when I didn't have my period. That did it. I brought a heap load of pregnancy tests and hid them in the bathroom until I had a chance to be by myself.

I was about a five weeks along and I could count back the days perfectly. I knew exactly what night it was when Justin infected me with his devil sperm; the night we were ambushed on the island. All the signs were there: my boobs starting hurting a couple of days ago, I woke up from eight hours of sleep still exhausted, my back ached slightly, I could smell everything, and this morning I threw up twice before breakfast.

I looked at myself in the mirror and turned to the side, trying to see if I could tell. I could have sworn that there was a bump. Maybe the hormones were making me delusional.

I wanted to smile, and then I wanted to cry… and then I wanted to smile again. I was going to have a baby—Justin's baby.

This wasn't the best time. He had just taken over the largest crime syndicate in the world, for God's sake. Now we had to worry about a child. This was not going to go over well. I tried not to think about how Justin was going to react. He claimed that he would be fine with it, but I knew him better than that. He was going to flip.

It wasn't like I had planned this. I was on birth control, but I knew the statistics. This was bound to happen at some point or another.

The door banged open and Alec was standing there with a large camera, like the kind they use on the news.

"And here we have my sister-in-law Selena." He put the lens right in my face.

"What the hell are you doing?" I screeched. "Get out!"

"I'm making a documentary for class. You signed a waver saying that you'd do it, remember?"

"Of course I remember, but don't you think you should have knocked first?"

"Oh, right." He shrugged. "Anyway, say something nice."

"No, and this isn't going in that video. I could have been naked."

"Well then… I guess you'd just make a different type of movie." He waggled his eyebrows.

"Get out!"

"Alright, alright." Alec rolled his eyes and turned the camera away from me. Unfortunately, his lens landed right on the counter. "Oh."

I quickly got rid of all the pregnancy tests, which wasn't easy since he was blocking my way, but I put them in the trash.

"Selena, um… I'm no expert, but I think we need to have a talk." Alec put the camera back in my face.

"Please don't say anything," I pleaded. "Not yet."

"Of course not." He bounced on his feet like Alice would. "Are you pregnant?"

"I don't know yet," I lied. "The tests could be wrong."

"This is so going in the movie." He laughed, walking out of the bathroom.

I pounded my fists on the counter in frustration, but tried not to scream.

Damn you, Alec!

He was going to ruin everything. I prayed to God that he didn't let this slip. I was going to have to watch not only what he said around Justin, but everyone else as well. He and Alice could gossip like catty chickens. No one could know about this before Justin. He would be pissed beyond belief.

Maybe I could call Esme. We weren't on the best of terms right now, but she would know what to do. The only problem was I didn't know how to reach her. She and Carlisle had left a week ago, and we hadn't heard from them since. Justin said something about them being in Australia, but they could be anywhere. He wasn't really sure himself.

"Just take it one step at a time, Selena," I said to myself.

I had to tell Justin soon. That was the first priority.

I rushed to take a shower because I had to work tonight, but I was also meeting Justin for dinner before. Maybe this would be the perfect opportunity.

I chose a professional blue dress to wear with capped sleeves that stopped short of my knees and tall black heels that made me a couple of inches taller. I was a pro at these things now. Being a mob Boss' wife meant dressing a certain way. No more sweatpants or jeans in public for me again. I always had to be in the finest designer clothes and the best pumps. These were the obvious indicators that Justin was rich—in case people didn't already know. They said 'I have more money than you could ever dream of and I treat my wife to the best in life'. If anyone missed all that, I could always blind them with the radiant light of the massive wedding diamond on my finger. It was a strange way of thinking, but there were certain rules that I had to live by. I understood.

I checked myself in the mirror to see if anything was visible in my stomach region. I knew it was silly, but I just had to make sure.

Alec was filming Francis playing with a ball in the family room when I went in to get my keys.

"I'm leaving for dinner, and then I'll be working late. There's a lasagna in the oven for you." I spoke quickly.

"Okay," he said without moving. "Are you going to tell him?"

"Of course I'm going to tell him. But act like you never knew. He has to be the first. I'm still pissed at you, by the way."

"I'm sorry. I didn't think you were in there. I really didn't mean to do that. I won't tell him; I swear to it."

"Well, thank you. Just give me a couple days."

Alec put his camera on the sofa and stood up. "How are you doing?"

"I'm… okay, I guess. I haven't really thought about it." I hung my head and watched the toe of my pump mess with the carpet.

"No bad thoughts going through your head? No reminders of Elizabeth?"

I shook my head.

"Do you want the baby?" he asked.

I smiled and nodded. "It's not the right time, but I really do. I think I do, at least."

"Well, it's about time. Sheesh. I've been waiting for a little Justin or Selena for years now. I was even going to start replacing your birth control with Tic-Tacs."

"Don't even joke about that," I laughed. "I'm going to need you when Justin blows his lid."

"I'll be here. Congratulations, Selena." He hugged me softly, and then bent down to speak to my stomach. "Hey, Little Selena. I'm Uncle Alec. I'll meet you soon."

I smiled even wider. "Okay, stop it."

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"Oh, sweet! My present is here." Alec jumped over the back of the sofa and ran to the front door.

"What present?"

"It's my birthday soon. Did you forget?"

"No, but there's still a month left," I said.

"I know, but I couldn't pass this up."

"Pass what up?"

"I got a pet." Alec beamed and opened the door to reveal a man in a brown uniform.

"Is this the Justin residence?"

"It sure is. Is that my pet?" Alec asked excitedly.

"Yup. I just need you to sign these." The deliveryman handed him a pad.

I noticed the large enclosed tub at the man's feet. It looked like a gallon drum.

"What exactly is it?" I was afraid to ask.

"Okay, Selena, don't freak out, but I might have bought a snake."

"A what?"

"A snake—a python, actually."

No, no, no, no…

"Are these things safe to have in a house?" I asked the man. "Are they legal?"

"I get them shipped to me from Africa, and then distribute. I don't ask questions."

"So, you're a black market dealer?"

"I'm an opportunist." He smiled sleazily. "They are actually legal if you have the means to afford one. They eat very little, the attack rate on humans is low, and they keep to themselves; just for show, really."

"I don't know how I feel about this," I protested.

"Where do you want it?" the man asked.

"In my room. Let me help you." Alec carried one end, while the deliveryman carried the other. Even with the both of them, it looked like a struggle.

"I'm not so sure I want that in my house." I backed away.

"I already asked Justin, and he said 'yes'. And I'll keep him away from Francis and feed them both every day. I promise, Selena. Plus, I already forged the papers to get the permit."

I had to hold onto the wall for support. I wasn't really scared of snakes… I didn't think, but I had never really been that close to one. Now I had a python living in my house. I had to talk to Justin about this.

"I have to go. I'm late," I shouted.

"Bye. Francis and I will try not to burn the house down," Alec yelled.

"Please and thank you."

I ran into the garage and hopped in my car, starting it easily while buckling up. I was out of the driveway within a couple of seconds and sped towards Chicago with my bottom lip between my teeth. All thoughts of the stupid snake flew out of my head as I thought about my newly conceived child.

The closer I was to the city, the more excited I got.

I was going to have a baby! Forget the timing or what everyone else thought. I suddenly wanted this. It was a completely different feeling than the first time I had been pregnant. I had so many questions back then about how a child would affect my future, especially with Justin. Now, I was looking forward to seeing what could happen.

This was definitely going to be a turning point for us. It might have come quickly, but I was ready. We were ready.

I parked in the underground garage of the studio where I worked, and then just walked down the block where I bumped into happy tourists and eager businessmen. I just kept my head down and moved my feet through the crowds until I arrived at one of Justin's favorite restaurants.

"Hello, ma'am. Do you have a reservation?" the hostess asked when I went into a place called Blueberry on the River.

"My husband said he was already here. Justin Justin."

All it ever took was a name—that name and I could have anything I wanted. I usually didn't really like people knowing who I was married to. I wasn't ashamed, but I just didn't want to get off easy for anything. Plus everyone was terrified of him, so I didn't really make friends. It did make it nice in situations like these, though.

"Oh, of course, Mrs. Justin. Follow me." Her face fell into a slightly more professional façade, "How are you tonight?"

"I'm fine." I answered in a clipped tone.

Another rule for a Boss' wife to live by: never have conversations with service people aka waitresses, drivers, hostesses, bartenders, or anyone of that nature. Loose lips sink ships and they had the loosest around. I didn't like being so off-putting sometimes, but I got it. You wouldn't believe how many conversations I picked up while working at the club in Rio. People think that just because you aren't paying attention to them, you aren't listening. In this world, information was key and if it got into the wrong hands, there could be deadly consequences.

"It's nice weather we're having, wouldn't you agree?" She tried again.

"Very nice." I nodded.

She got the point and just led me through the restaurant. We went into the very back where a door opened up to a patio that overlooked the Chicago River. No one else was out there except Justin and a small table with candles.

"Here you go, ma'am," the lady said to me and closed the door.

"Justin, what is all this?" I asked as I looked around and walked towards the table.

"Oh, you're here." He stood up quickly and kissed my lips. He then pulled out my chair. "Have a seat."

"What's going on?"

"Nothing. I just thought we could have a nice dinner. Alone."

I sat down and looked over the railing at the cars and people passing on the streets down below.

"This is very nice," I told him. "Did you do something bad?"

He chuckled, "Stop being so cynical, Selena. I wanted to do something nice for a change and to thank you for being so flexible with our new lifestyle. You haven't complained once about anything and I know it's been hard for you."

"No, it really hasn't. I'm fine. But thank you. This is nice."

"Would you like some wine?" Justin held up a bottle.

"Uh, no. I think I'll just have water. I have to work later and wouldn't want to be buzzed." Thoughts of the baby went through my head.

Tell him…

"True." He poured himself a glass. "Our food should be out in a minute."

"You rented out this whole area for us?"

"It's a date, Selena. Just go with it." He grinned.

"Usually, you're trying to cover something up if you go this far for a date."

"Not this time. I've been on my best behavior."

"I'll be the judge of that." I sipped my water. "How has your day been?"

"Good. Nothing exciting."

"No daring illegal deeds?"

"Not yet, Selena. I'm still feeling out the territory."

"Um, just a quick question. Did you tell Alec that he could get a snake for his birthday?"

"No," Justin replied firmly. "I said we could talk about it."

"Right. Well, we're now living with a python in the house, and I don't know how I feel about that."

"That fucking brat. I said we needed to ask you first of all and I never told him to get one without my permission. How the hell did he pay for the thing?"

"I didn't ask. I had to get out of there as soon as possible."

"Are you scared of them?"

"I don't think so, but then again, I've never really seen a python, so I'm not sure. Snakes don't usually creep me out, though."

"I love snakes. They're clean, the big ones eat once a week, they tend to themselves, and don't make a mess." Justin sipped his wine. "We don't have to keep it if you're afraid."

"No, I just need to get used to it."

"I guess he can keep the thing, but only in the garage."

"I agree. I don't think Francis should be around it either. Don't they eat pigs and stuff?"

"I'm not quite sure. I guess we'll learn as we go."

"This sounds incredibly dangerous."

"Speaking of dangerous, we're going to the opera tomorrow night. You're not working, right?"

"No, I'm not working. The opera?"

He pulled out a newspaper article from his jacket pocket and handed it to me so that I could read it.

The Chicago Opera Theater was playing Don Giovanni, and it was supposed to be one of the first social events of the season. I recognized a lot of names that were slated to attend, including Volutri and Denali.

"Giuseppe Mangicavallo and his sons will be there," Justin said.

"Should I know who he is?"

"He's the one I need to look out for. He and his family are trying to rival us and we've yet to meet. Tomorrow might be the perfect opportunity."

"How diplomatic of you." I put the paper down. "You won't kill him, will you?"

"Not tomorrow night. He's not the one I need to worry about, anyway. His sons are the real problem. They're basically like us, or trying to be at least."

"Well, I look forward to meeting them, then."

"I warn you, everyone there will be looking at us like we're diseased. Remember what I told you; it's just like high school."

"I'm ready for them." I took another long pull of water.

Our dinner was off to a good start, and we didn't shy away for more aggressive conversation, as Justin put it. I was worried that he might shut me out when he took over the family, but he told me everything and answered all my questions. Then we started with lighter conversation about work and normal things like that.

Not for one second after my initial thought did it cross my mind to tell Justin that I was pregnant. It should have, but I would do it soon. I just had to judge his temper first.

Maybe it was fate, or just an ironic occurrence, but about halfway through the meal, a baby started crying inside the restaurant. Justin tried to ignore it at first, but after a while, he became obsessed with the sound.

"Am I the only one who can hear that?" He ground his teeth together.

"It's just a baby, Justin. Let it go."

"I can't. It's hurting my head too much. Why do people bring their children to nice restaurants? There are certain things that you just don't do."

I tried to get his mind off of it, but talking wasn't an option. He was fixated on that baby.

He eventually called a waitress over to us. "Can you please tell the people in there to take their child home. I can't take the noise anymore."

"I'll see what I can do, sir." She scurried back inside of the restaurant.

"This is ridiculous." He swirled some wine around in his mouth. "I'm sorry that they've ruined our dinner."

"No one's ruining dinner, Justin. I can barely hear it." I assured him.

"I can," he replied.

The waitress came back out with a sad look on her face. "I'm sorry, sir, but they said they're not done eating."

"I swear to God…" He pulled at his hair. "Tell them I'll pay them to leave."

"Justin, it's okay. I have to get to work anyway." I turned to the waitress. "Tell them 'sorry'. We're leaving."

I didn't want to think about what this would mean for our own child. I refused to take this as a bad sign.

Justin grumbled under his breath before handing her his credit card.

We walked out of the restaurant after our bill was paid.

"So, will I see you tonight before I go to bed?" I asked him as we strolled down the street hand-in-hand. He put on his sunglasses even though the sun was setting. Another rule: never let people see the real you. Justin's eyes were the way he communicated with people without words so they were almost always covered in public. You could always tell what he was thinking if you knew how to read his eyes. There weren't that many people who had the skill to decipher them. I was one of the select few.

The sidewalks were considerably less packed so I didn't have to worry about him getting even further agitated with anyone. I looked behind me, over my shoulder, and saw the three bodyguards following us secretively. They were always there and always would be.

"Maybe. I have to take a drive… somewhere tonight." He answered.

"Really? Where?" I questioned, trying not to sound too worried.

"I'll tell you when I get back in the morning."

I nodded, knowing that I wasn't going to get any information out of him.

He walked me the few blocks to the studio and kept me close to his body during our kiss goodbye. His hands clutched at my dress and my fingers knotted in his hair. Our lips devoured each other like dehydrated lovers seeking out water. I had to pull away from him when fire started to radiate down below, and my libido threatened to take over.

"Justin, I have to go," I panted.

He kept his face close to mine, our noses touching, as he placed soft kisses anywhere he could reach. "Let's escape somewhere."

"I have work."

"Come on, I can get the jet ready in an hour. We can go to… Miami for the night."

"Just one night?"

He nodded, his forehead on mine. "Let's go. It's romantic."

"No, Justin. " I said, grabbing the lapels of his navy suit, bringing him closer, "You and I both have things to do. Remember? You have to go… somewhere."

"Emmett can handle it," he groaned, "I have the power to delegate tasks however I see fit. Right now, I think I need to be with you, on a private beach, wrapped in a towel with our naked bodies pressed against each other…"

"Oh my God." I whispered, "That's so hot. Please stop."

"Selena, I can make you feel incredibly good. Just let me take you away." He languidly kissed from my neck up to my lips, "Let's escape somewhere."

I was almost crying at the beautiful picture he had created in my head. I wanted to escape with him so badly. Alas, real life was calling and my hopes were stomped on.

This was another one of those moments that I could say something about the baby. He was in a good mood. This rare show of PDA was evidence of that.

Tell him…

"No. I'm sorry." I kissed him once more. "Now please leave before I take you up on that offer."

"I wish you would."

"I'll see you tonight or early in the morning if you're not back by the time I pass out." I separated from him completely as to not tempt myself.

"Alright, Selena." Justin finally conceded with a gentlemanly nod of his head, "I'll let you go. But I would like to draw it to your attention that we haven't had sex in four days, twelve hours, and fifteen minutes. That's a lifetime for us."

"That damned brain of yours will be the death of me." I muttered.

"Italian men don't go without sex...ever. You know that better than anyone." He sauntered closer to me, whispering close to face, "I'm very horny."

"Oh, my." I let out an exasperated breath.

Justin finished playing his games. With a smirk, he pulled away.

"I love you, Selena," he said softly.

"I love you too."

I turned and walked inside.

Work was getting easier every day, and I actually enjoyed learning each aspect of my job. The behind-the-scenes stuff was important in order to make everyone look good, and it was a very fast paced-type environment. We basically had a two-hour time window to put segments together, and then make sure that the show ran smoothly. My work was also made better because Alice was always there. She handled all the wardrobe and makeup, so she was a little worker bee for the entire live show.

Alice was at my side in a minute as soon as I stepped off of the elevator. "How was dinner with Justin?"

"Good. We're going to the opera tomorrow night."

"I know. Jasper and I aren't, but I heard it's supposed to be big. Everyone's going to be there."

"Why aren't you going?"

"My mom's coming into town and wants to do something." She rolled her eyes. "Maybe I can just send her off with Jasper. She loves him almost as much as I do."

"Supposedly, it's not just a social night. Justin's scoping out the competition."

"Oh, really? Sounds like fun. You and Justin working as a team to take down the bad guys." She giggled.

"I'm not taking down anyone. I'm just going to the opera."

Alice rolled her eyes and whispered, "You're one bad ass mafia wife."

"Thanks." We came to our separation point, where I would go down the hall to the production room and she to wardrobe

"Bye, Selena!" She skipped down the hallway.

I pushed the door to the large media room that looked out onto the sound stage open. Everyone from production was in there, in front of monitors and computers. It took a lot of work to get a show up and ready to go.

I sat at my station, making sure that the one commercial break I had to cut was ready to go.

Violet, our distinguished resident TV reporter, strode into the room, an air of superiority about her, in a lavender pantsuit that made her look ridiculous. A makeup girl was fluffing out Violet's graying hair while she walked.

"Okay, people. I need everyone alert. In the last segment my lighting was off. You couldn't even see the beautiful cheekbones that my father gave me. If you're interested, you can read about them in my new book where I trace my ancestry back, but that's beside the point. I need better lighting." Her voice was shrill with a demanding tone.

I rolled my eyes and tuned her out.

As the minutes progressed, I became thankful that I didn't have to work with the crew. Violet actually stopped her interview to have them change the lights over ten times. At one point, I thought she might climb up a ladder and do it herself. It was a good thing this wasn't live. I could tell the whole time that Violet was bored out of her mind from having to interview some pop princess. Maybe she knew she was about to get fired and just didn't care anymore.

By the time I left the studio, I was tired—exhausted, actually. I had to remind myself that I was pregnant, because it had slipped my mind while at work. Suddenly, everything became different. I realized that I was carrying someone inside of me and moved cautiously even when walking. I wasn't going to risk anything this time.

I drove home slowly, thinking. I had to tell Justin soon. It needed to be done, and I was going to fight my hardest to make him see that this baby wasn't the end of our world. But if I had to do that much work, maybe it wasn't meant to be. Should we really be having children if he didn't want them so badly?

"Well, I'm having this child," I said to myself as I sat in the driveway.

I had thought about this moment for the past two years. I knew there was always the possibility that I would get pregnant, and I would have to make a choice between the baby and Justin. I would choose my baby if it came to that again.

Maybe I was just jumping the gun, though. He claimed to have matured and was open to the idea, but that was when he knew it was coming. Justin said we could plan for a baby in five, ten years. Now I was just going to spring it on him without warning

Lord help me.

I walked into the dark house and locked the door.

I took off my coat and put my bag down before sliding out of my shoes, sighing in relief. I found Alec sleeping on the couch with Francis on his chest. Alec was snoring slightly with his phone resting in his hand. I took it from him and saw several text messages from Jane.

I didn't know what their relationship was as of now, but they were definitely into each other. Every time she came by the house, he would dress up and try to impress her. Little did he know, she was already falling for him. He didn't need to try so hard.

"Francis, go to the bathroom," I whispered and lifted him off of Alec.

Francis wasn't very happy that I woke him up, but stretched his muscles and trotted towards the backdoor. He came back a couple seconds later, and I let him in. I set the high-tech alarm with the passcode and could almost hear the electric fence boot up. Justin wasn't playing when it came to security. Sometimes it felt like we lived on a military base, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

"Alec," I shook him, "Alec, wake up. You need to get to bed."

"No." He rolled over on the couch. "Leave me alone."

"You're going to have a crick in your neck in the morning. Wake up."

He huffed and opened his eyes. "If I can't get back to sleep, I'm blaming you."

Francis barked at us, an indication that he was tired and wanted to get in a bed. We all climbed the stairs, and Francis ran into Alec's room. That was his domain.

"How was work?" he asked me.

"Good. I learned a lot today and even made my own commercial."

"I'm impressed.

Even from the hallway, I could hear the hiss of the python behind Alec's door.

"Oh, my God. That thing is starting to freak me out." I shuddered.

I peeked into his messy room. The snake was in a large, glass container. It looked like an empty aquarium. The python was massive, with a coiling body that wrapped around the inside of the tank. It was a dark, olive green color with tan spots and a long pink tongue that licked at the glass.

"You can't have that," I asserted. "I can't have that thing in my house. I'm sorry."

"Come on, Selena. It's non-venomous and this is a show snake. It was in movies and shit so it's kind of tamed. It knows not to bite." Alec pleaded with me.

I inched into his room, closer to the tank, which was being heated by a large lamp. "What does it eat?"

"Not humans," he said adamantly. "I just have to feed him a mouse or two every other week. He's just about three years old right now. They eat less as they get older."

"It's a he?"

"Yup. Do you want to touch him?" Alec stuck his hand in the cage.

My heart stopped. "Don't do that. He'll bite you."

"No, he won't. They don't bite unless they're attacked. I've been training with this one in my zoology class."

"You stole a snake from school?"

"No. They were sending him off to a reservation somewhere so they could get new ones. I just bought it from the animal dealer. They just don't know it." He grinned as the snake wrapped his way around Alec's arm and started slithering onto his shoulders. They looked very comfortable with each other.

"This is gross." I bit my lip, but was secretly intrigued.

"Pet his head. He's nice. It's a ball python. They don't bite and are good for beginners."

"Alec, this isn't a good idea. We have Francis to worry about."

"I'll move the snake to the garage. I just have set up his habitat. Don't worry. I have it all figured out."

"Does he have a name?"

"Valentino. He's just misunderstood. I can't wait to show Jane."

I hesitantly reached my hand out, and then felt the cold, scaly skin of the python. He hissed, but didn't snap or anything. He leaned into my palm and nuzzled it. His deep, black eyes blinked at me and didn't look threatening at all.

"Valentino?" I asked, still petting him.

"Yeah. Isn't he cool?"

" He's, um, okay. What about the baby? I can't have a snake around my newborn." I shook my head.

"I swear the habitat will be safe out in the garage. He won't ever be in the house." Alec's eyes were wide, waiting for my answer.

"Just… keep him away from anything that moves and talk to Justin first." I wiped my hand on my pants.

"This is going to be awesome." The snake coiled around Alec's neck, and I could see just how long the thing was. Must have been about six feet and incredibly thick.

"Put him the garage first thing in the morning."

"I promise."

I shot out of bed before Justin's six o'clock alarm went off and ran to the bathroom. I ended up emptying the contents of my stomach into the sink, because I wasn't going to make it to the toilet.

Five minutes later, I was breathless, and my throat hurt so badly that I was crying. This morning sickness was so much more intense than I remembered. It was almost painful.

I panted on the floor and waited until I was sure that no more was going to come up. I brushed my teeth and washed my mouth out with Listerine.

"You're up early." Justin's lips were on my neck.

"I didn't sleep well last night," I lied. "I figured I might as well get up."

"Are you okay? You look flushed."

"I'm fine," I told him with certainty. "I'll go get breakfast ready."

"Would you like to join me in the shower?" Justin turned me around so that we were facing each other, and his lopsided smirk almost did me in. His lips traveled across my collarbone and up the column of my neck, tasting my skin.

"I can't…" I really didn't want to do this without telling him first. I didn't know why, but it just didn't feel right, almost like I was lying to him.

"Why? Please." His hands cupped my butt forcefully, giving my cheeks a squeeze.

Thankfully, before I lost my mind, the doorbell rang.

"That's why. Breakfast is here." I kissed him and rushed out of the bathroom, eager for food.

Every morning, Justin had food delivered for breakfast since he didn't cook and I sometimes didn't wake up in time. I found out that if you were rich enough, anything you wanted could be brought right to your front step.

I rushed to the foyer and turned off the alarm, which took a lot of intricate button pressing, and then undid the three locks on our massive, front door.

"Hello, Mrs. Justin," the delivery boy, Ralph, said cheerily. He was a college kid who was delivering for extra cash.

"Hi." I smiled. "How are you this morning?"

"Great. Just two more stops." He handed me a large bag filled with wonderful smelling aromas.

I put the food down and got my wallet to give him a tip.

He refused at first, like he always did. "That's not necessary. Mr. Justin pays us more than enough."

"No, I insist. Please just take it." I handed him the twenty.

"Well… thank you. I'll see you tomorrow morning." Ralph nodded, and then waved as he walked back down towards his truck.

I closed the door and picked up the food, which was being sniffed at by Francis, who appeared out of nowhere. I went into the kitchen and started unpacking.

Everything was on plates and came with silverware. I didn't know where Justin was ordering this stuff from, but I had learned by now not to ask.

My regular breakfast of waffles and bacon smelled so good right now. Justin had his usual steak and eggs, while Alec's food took up the biggest portion of the bag. He had sausage, bacon, pancakes, two omelets, and cereal.

There was even a pork flavored dog meal for Francis, which I put his bowl. He didn't even wait for me to put the food down before he attacked. I then set the coffee maker, and strong Brazilin beans started to roast in the pot. It would be ready by the time Justin came down.

I set the table with our food and tried to wait as long as I could, but with my morning sickness and everything else going on, I had to start. I said a short Italian blessing before taking small bites of bacon.

"Geez, you couldn't call someone?" Alec plopped down at his place. He usually didn't even have to set an alarm. He just smelled the food and came running…almost like Francis.

"I couldn't help myself."

"I forgive you since you're eating for two now." He chuckled.

I shushed him, "Are you crazy? I haven't told him yet."

"Oh, shit." Alec slapped a hand over his mouth. "I didn't mean to say it."

"Don't even talk to him. You're going to slip up."

He nodded vigorously, digging into his food.

Justin glided into the kitchen and immediately went to the coffee. His hair was tousled, and his shoes made light taps on the hardwood floors. He poured himself a large cup before sitting down to eat. As always, he was dressed smartly in a suit. They made him look so handsome. This morning's was gray. I had to cross my legs to stop those feelings from shooting throughout my body.

"So, Selena, I have a couple of things coming to the house today. Are you going to be here?" Justin asked.

"Yeah, I don't have to work." I poured some syrup on my waffles and reminded myself to take it slow as to not attract too much attention. "What's coming?"

"They're taking out all the bottles of wine in the cellar and replacing it with new stuff."

"New stuff?"

"I bought a winery. They're bringing in samples so I can test the merchandise."

"You bought a winery?"

"Two, actually. One in France and one out in Napa," he replied, taking a bite of steak like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Sweet!" Alec bobbed his head up and down. "Free wine."

"I'm diversifying my assets," Justin told me. "Wine is a very lucrative business and the vineyards are a great way to make extra money. I would be a fool to let this pass by."

"That's certainly a big business venture. Do you know anything about wine?"

"Selena, it's like you don't even know me," Justin chuckled. "I've been drinking wine since I was five and know basically every brand out there."

"I didn't think you were such an expert to own a vineyard."

"Two," Alec corrected me behind a mouthful of food.

"I want you to taste some. I'll teach you," Justin said to me.

"Oh, um, that sounds like fun." I bit my lip, hoping he would forget about that. Of course, Justin never forgot anything so if I didn't tell him about the baby soon, I was going to have to make up excuses as to why I wasn't chugging down gallons of wine.

"Shit. I have to go." Justin took one last bite before getting up from the table. He came over to kiss me. "Don't forget about the opera tonight."

"I won't. I'll meet you in the city."

He nodded and left the kitchen. I heard his car speed out of the driveway a couple minutes later.

Justin, being the real estate mogul that he was, had several apartment buildings in the city. We had a townhouse downtown and Alec sometimes stayed there when he had a late class or early morning. It just made more sense for him to sleep in the city instead of driving all the way back out here. That's where we were meeting tonight before the opera.

"Jane's coming tonight, by the way," Alec said, gulping down orange juice.

"You finally asked her out?"

"We've been going on dates for a month. I think it's time to step my game up."

"How sweet of you. I think she was getting bored of dinners."

"Please," he scoffed, showing his youthful arrogance. "I've got this."

I rubbed my stomach unconsciously, and then stopped when I realized what I was doing.

"Glad no one slipped that time. I did well, if I do say so myself." Alec took his cleared plates to the sink. "I'm going to set up Valentino's new home."

I nodded, but didn't reply. I had almost forgotten about that damn snake. I guessed I could tolerate him if he just stayed outside.

Throughout the day, deliverymen were going through the house, bringing in cases of wine. Since Alec didn't have classes, he directed them to where it went while I just sat on the couch, thinking about my predicament. Then I cleaned the already spotless house, and then cleaned it again just for something to do.

Alice and Rose both asked me to go to lunch, but I declined, saying that I was kind of sick.

"Selena, what are you doing just sitting here?" Alec asked me, running into the family room. "We're going to be late."

"What time is it?" I looked around for the clock.

"Five. We're supposed to meet Justin for dinner at seven. Thankfully, he's bringing Jane from the office so we don't have to pick her up." He lifted me off of the sofa. "Let's move."

Alec held his tux in one hand, securely in a garment bag, and pushed me with the other. Alice had placed a dress at the apartment, and I would just change there. I put on some sneakers, and then got into Alec's Range Rover. I barely shut the door before he took off.

"You look nervous," I said to him.

"I'm going to kiss her tonight."

"Kiss whom?"

"What do you mean, 'kiss whom'? Jane, that's who," he snapped. "I'm freaking out."

"Oh, I can't help you there. I'm staying out of it."

"I've never kissed anyone before?"

"Of course you have, right?" I tried to think back and couldn't remember.

He shook his head, "No."

"Just make sure you go in too fast. There's nothing worse than a man who doesn't know how to kiss who thinks he does and bites your lips off. Just be soft."

"I've seen you and Justin kiss forcefully."

"Justin knows what he's doing, trust me. And our kisses always lead to something more, yours won't right now. Just follow her." I patted his shoulder, "And don't rub up against her. For the love of God, don't be overly sexual."

"What a great sister-in-law you're turning out to be." He rolled his eyes. "Just take a nap or something. You look tired."

"This baby is exhausting the hell out of me."

"You're only like a couple months along, right?"

"I think so. I need to get to the doctor soon."

"You need to tell your husband soon."

"That too," I sighed.

I leaned my head on the window and fell asleep.

All too soon, Alec was nudging me awake. I wasn't really alert until he pulled me out of the car and I started walking up the steps of the rustic townhouse. I called it the Blue House, because it had a bright blue door that made it stand out along the street. Justin had bought this place for its "architectural importance". I didn't really know what that meant, but he had the inside refurbished and renovated. Now, the three story place was beautifully done in a modern style. It probably cost as much as our regular house.

Alec and I both raced upstairs to get changed.

I didn't need to take a shower since I already did earlier in the day, so I sat in front of the mirror in our large bathroom, doing my makeup. I wasn't an expert like Alice or anything, but I was happy about the fact that I now knew what eyeliner was, unlike in high school.

I laughed to myself at the thought.

Tonight was extremely formal. The mayor was going to be there, and Justin told me that everybody who was anybody would be attending. Rose and Emmett were going to meet us at dinner before we went to the opera house. I didn't know what to expect, but I hoped that Justin kept himself in control when he met this other crime family. I reminded myself to pack his extra anxiety pills for tonight.

"Selena, I can't tie my bowtie." Alec knocked on the bathroom door. "Help me!"

"Calm down. I haven't even put my dress on yet. Wait downstairs."

"No. It has to be done before Jane gets here. She's going to think I'm a bum." He rattled the knob. I had learned to just keep the doors locked since he loved to barge in.

"I don't even know how to tie a bowtie. Ask Justin."

"Urg," he groaned. "Fine."

I rolled my eyes as I finished with the last of my makeup. Alice would certainly be looking at pictures from tonight, and I didn't want to hear her mouth.

My dress was hanging in a bag in the back of the closet with a specifically written note on the type of bra I was supposed to wear, the way I was to walk, the shoes, etc., etc., etc. Alice never did anything halfway.

I unzipped the bag and put on everything I was supposed to.

My dress was a deep burgundy color that flowed all the way down do the floor. It had a sweetheart neckline and rested nicely on my boobs. I realized that I was going to have to start going shopping for new clothes in a month or two.

I left my hair down, over my shoulders with a slight curl and realized just how long it was getting.

My wedding band and large engagement ring were sparkling in the lights of the bathroom. I didn't think I needed anymore jewelry, but according to Alice I did. I slipped on the diamond bracelet but refused to wear the necklace.

There was a knock on the door of the bathroom half an hour later. "Selena, are you in there?"

"Yes." I unlocked the door for Justin.

He blinked a couple of times when he saw me and shut his mouth.

"What, is this too much?" I asked.

"No, you look… really good."

I felt a blush coming on. "Well, thank you."

"I would kiss your lips, but I wouldn't want to mess with your makeup." He pushed me against the wall of the bathroom and descended on my neck.

"Justin, we have to leave soon and you need to get dressed." My resolve was quickly dissolving. We hadn't had sex in…a long time.

"We're not going. Forget it." He lifted up my dress and his fingers lightly pushed my legs apart.

I yelped when he started to rub my most sensitive area.

I threw my head back as he hoisted me up against the wall. He pushed himself between my legs, and I didn't even know he had dropped his pants until I could feel him against me, skin rubbing skin. He pierced me in one quick motion that stretched me to the maximum limit.

I yelled out in pure pleasure.

His lips stayed away from my face, but he bit… sucked… licked… all over my neck.

I grabbed hold of his shoulders as we began to rock against the wall. I was over the mountain in what felt like a second; it was the quickest, yet one of the most intense, orgasms that I had ever experienced.

Justin followed soon after, and I felt wetness on my thighs as his seed dribbled out of me.

"I really didn't mean to do that," he whispered in my ear, "but I couldn't help myself."

"That was hot," I laughed breathlessly.

"I… love you. A lot." His green eyes bore into mine,. "I just wanted to say that, Mrs. Justin."

My heart jumped in my chest.

Tell him!

"Um, Justin. I have to tell you something." I unwrapped my legs from around him and slid back down to the floor.

"Okay, can we talk while I'm in the shower?" He started to undress from his work suit.

"Sure, I guess."

He got into the shower, and I took out his tux from the garment bag next to mine.

"So, what is it?" he asked loudly over the water.

I bit my lip hard. I just couldn't say the words.

I'm pregnant.

"Alec needs you to fix his bowtie." I shut my eyes and internally hated myself.

"Oh, is that all? That's no problem."

He knew I was lying. I could hear it in his voice.

"Yeah, he's freaking out. Did you bring Jane with you from the office?" I started to clean off my legs from the juices Justin left behind.

"She's downstairs. Last I saw them, they were staring at each other like lovebirds or some shit like that."

"Hurry up. We have to leave soon." I rushed out of the bathroom as it started to fill with steam. I couldn't take the stifling heat anymore.

I ran and opened the window, letting the soft breezes cool me down.

"I can't believe you, Selena." I shook my head in disgust.

Half an hour later, Justin was striding out of the bathroom proudly in a tuxedo that was too handsome to describe. His bowtie was fastened expertly and everything about him screamed sensuality.

I got hotter.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked, combing through his hair in the mirror.

"Yeah." I slid my feet into my shoes and fixed my dress one last time. I quickly transferred things into the small black clutch that I was bringing tonight.

"I have the tickets." Justin patted his tux jacket.

"Okay, then. Let's go." I started to walk out of the door, but he caught me by the wrist and pulled me back.

"Selena, is everything alright?"

"What are you talking about?" I smiled.

"You seem… off today."

"No, I'm fine. I'm just a little nervous." I thanked God for my improving lying techniques.

He still knew I wasn't telling the truth, though. I could see it in his eyes.

Justin nodded. "Okay, Selena. I trust you."

I felt tears start to roll down my cheeks just from the look on his face. He was so hurt that I was lying, but he wasn't going to push me for an answer. He would never push me. Beyond everything else, we had trust. I couldn't betray that. I felt so bad that I wanted to crawl into that tank with Valentino and let him strangle me.

I opened my mouth to speak, but my mind flashed back four years ago. I would never be able to forget the scene that occurred between Justin and me when he learned I was pregnant the first time.

There was another crash, and then his feet stomped back into the dining room. "Selena, you better not be joking. Did Emmett put you up to this?"

"This isn't a joke, Justin."

He nodded. "Okay, then. Deal with it."

"Deal with what?"

"Get rid of it." Justin started climbing the stairs.

It took me a couple of seconds to realize what the hell he was saying, and I almost went into full volcanic mode when I did. I ran up the stairs after him and barged into the bedroom.

"What did you just say?"

"I said, I want you to get rid of it; the baby has to go," Justin muttered with finality.

"Are you serious? You don't even want to think about this? You're first reaction is to get rid of it?"

"Yes, I'm being a realist. Get rid of the baby."

"What happened to all your old Italian, Catholic teachings?"

"Don't get all religious on me, Selena." He undid his tie roughly. "Do you realize how bad this is?"

"Do you realize how good this might be? We're going to have a child."

"No, we're not. I'm going to give you my credit card, turn my head, and you're going to handle this."

I just couldn't do it.

[malarkiness]

Saw The Rise of Skywalker, and I have thoughts about it.

Honestly? I didn't hate it. In fact, I'm kind of embracing it purely for the absolute disaster that it is. There were a few things that were bad enough to actually take away from my enjoyment of the movie, but overall, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be. I think it helped that I watched Revenge of the Sith the night before seeing it. ROTS is a mess, but it’s a fun mess, and TROS isn’t all that different.

So with that said, I guess I'll start by talking about the stuff I liked:

Sheev Palpatine is an absolute delight in this movie. His addition to this story is so blatantly thoughtless and embarrassingly shoehorned, but every one of his scenes was just a joy to watch. I spent every second of his screentime trying not to laugh out loud in the theater. His scenes completely took me out of the third act's otherwise grim tone, and I'm so grateful for that because it made everything—including the forced r*ylo kiss—look like a total joke. I was dreading that moment, but once it happened, it was not only bearable, but completely forgettable thanks to Sheev Palpatine being extra as all hell. What a fucking hero. I'm sorry, I just... I genuinely cannot get upset about the asspull that is this character's presence in IX, lmao. I know he was only thrown in because Snoke was killed in VIII and the obligatory #Bendemption would mean forfeiting Kylo as the main villain, and we needed SOMEONE for Rey to fight. It was the result of inexcusably poor writing and planning, I get that. But Sheev truly took this movie from mediocre to so-bad-it's-good territory, and God bless him for it.

Finn remains my fav, but TLJ didn’t leave him with much to do in TROS. And his TLJ arc wasn’t bad, exactly, but it definitely could’ve been better. There was nothing about his Force sensitivity, nothing about his family, nothing about him being an ex-stormtrooper who could inspire more to turn against the First Order (something that could've developed very naturally from his conversations with Rose). You probably could’ve given that arc to any other character because so little about it was unique to Finn. But I think TROS did okay with how it continued that (generic) arc. Finn's actively working for the Resistance and even takes on a leadership role near the end. I kept waiting for there to be something alluding to his past as a stormtrooper aside from a couple of throwaway lines, and I was convinced that nothing would really come of that, but no! He ends up meeting another ex-stormtrooper named Jannah, and they have this nice conversation where Finn learns that there are a lot of other stormtroopers who defected. And... it almost seems like Jannah's already had the character arc that I wanted Finn to get, lmao. Like she's already in this little band of ex-stormtroopers helping the Resistance fight the First Order. I wish we learned more about her and her allies (like does Jannah help other stormtroopers escape? Maybe she purposefully traps them and then tries to help them deprogram themselves?). I'd totally be down for a Jannah spin-off series, tbh. But anyway, Finn doesn't have much of an arc in this movie; it's more like TROS just caps off his arcs from TFA and TLJ with him becoming a Resistance general and fully trusting in the Force (because Force-sensitive Finn is CANON 🎉🎉🎉). Again, it could’ve been better, but for what TLJ left him with, it’s fine.

I loved seeing Finn, Rey, and Poe work together. They have a great dynamic, with Rey and Poe always butting heads about the ship or BB-8 or who's leading the mission, and Finn tries to be the peacemaker between them. I loved their reunion hug at the end, too. But there is this odd running gag where Finn wants to tell Rey something when they all think they’re about to die, but doesn't want to say it in front of Poe later, and it just really sticks in Poe's craw. And we never even find out what Finn wanted to say. I mean, I like to think Finn was going to tell Rey that he loved her, but that's just me. 👀

Rey's character arc definitely has some problems, but there was also lot of stuff I liked. It was interesting to see her grapple with the reveal that she was a Palpatine and start to fear her own power and purpose. There's this great scene where she tells Finn that no one really understands her, and you know how afraid she is of what she could become, but it also hurts Finn to hear her say that. She eventually tries to isolate herself completely by running away to Luke's sad seagull island, but Luke's Force Ghost shows up and gives her this little pep talk that wouldn't ring so hollow if, y'know, TLJ had actually bothered to develop their relationship beyond Luke being afraid of her, but whatever. I also liked seeing her opt to heal the sandworm blocking the cavern's exit rather than kill it. She has this very natural chemistry with Finn and Poe through their treasure hunt. I also loved her interactions with Leia and their master/apprentice relationship.

Rose unfortunately has very little to do in this movie, but she does have a couple of nice moments with Finn that I really liked. One was when she says that something will happen if Finn & co. succeed in their mission, and he corrects her with “when.” I just thought it was sweet that her faith in the rebellion rubbed off on him, to the point that he uses it to encourage her, too. The other moment is near the end when she tells Finn they need to retreat, and then she hesitates when he says he’s staying behind. But instead of trying to stop him like in TLJ, she accepts his choice.

I can’t lie: seeing OT-era Luke and Leia spar with lightsabers got me. I’ve always loved their relationship, and I’m glad we got to see it in a flashback.

Call me petty, but I find it very satisfying that at no point in this entire trilogy does Anakin make any effort to contact Kylo. Not to advise him, admonish him, soothe him, or anything despite Kylo borderline praying to the guy at different points in this story. But once Rey starts faltering against Palpatine? Anakin finally wakes his Force Ghost ass up long enough to yell some encouragement to her. That is hilarious. Also, all the jedi calling out to Rey was just a great moment, period.

Hux's death is such a non-event, lmfao. He's outed as the mole, gets shot in the chest, and that's it. He's gone for the rest of the movie. It’s such a fitting ending for a character like him.

Kylo’s turn to the Light is... bad, but there is a nice bit of dialogue between him and his vision of Han where they echo their last conversation in TFA. I did like that.

I liked Zorii, and that she immediately takes a liking to Rey when they meet, lol.

I missed like half the shit going on in the post-battle celebration scene because I was watching the background for that one instance of two fourth-tier female characters kissing. Cheers, Jeffrey. 🎉

Rey choosing to carry on the Skywalker name was nice. Again, it would’ve meant more if she and Luke had had a better relationship in TLJ (and given how much closer she is to Leia, Rey Organa would’ve made more sense), but whatever, I’ll take it.

As for the stuff I didn’t like:

I think most of my gripes with this movie start with the #Bendemption that happens around the halfway point, so... I’ll just start with that. So Rey and Kylo are fighting on the ruins of the Death Star, Kylo starts gaining the upper hand, and Leia senses that her time has come to... help Rey? “Save” her son? I’m not sure, but whatever it is, she uses the Force to call out to Ben and distract him so that Rey can kill him, and it costs Leia her life. I’m actually okay with this little plot point because the way it’s framed makes it look like Leia sacrificed herself for Rey’s sake, not Kylo’s. I’m not sure if that was the intention, but that’s how it read to me. But then, Rey heals Kylo because... ???? I dunno, I guess the plot needs her to. And with that, I feel like we’re right back in TLJ, where Rey just does shit for the sake of Kylo’s character arc, her own thoughts/feelings/motivations be damned. There is a moment where she and Kylo are just sitting there taking in the shock of Leia’s death, and maybe if Kylo was shown to have some significant relationship with his mother (aside from opting not to kill her that one time), the scene would’ve had some emotional weight to it, but he wasn’t, so it doesn’t.

Kylo Ren is just a waste of a villain, honestly. TFA presents him as this petulant, overgrown child, and if it weren't for the fact that he's extremely powerful, most people would just laugh him off. He throws temper tantrums, wears that stupid mask in attempt to look more intimidating, Rey tells him to his face that he's just a pathetic Vader fanboy, Hux can barely keep himself from rolling his eyes when he's in the room. No one would take this clown seriously if their lives didn't depend on it, and this is a fact that he is clearly aware of, as evidenced by every instance of him doing something over-the-top evil whenever he feels the ~call to the Light a.k.a. whenever he feels weak.  I liked having that sort of villain in this trilogy, and honestly, you could keep all that and still have him helping the good guys in the end; he’d just need a compelling reason to switch sides, and TROS just doesn’t give him one. None of these movies did. There’s no moment of clarity for him about power and the Dark Side. His main motivation of “finishing what [Anakin] started” is never even brought up. Kylo just becomes Ben after Rey runs off, and that’s it. He’s Good now because the plot needs him to be.

The Knights of Ren sure were..... there.

Like I said above, the r*ylo kiss is nothing. Yes, it’s garbage that a male character can spend multiple movies killing and hurting a female character’s friends, torturing her, invading her privacy, yelling at her that she’s worthless outside her relationship to him, and still get to snog her in the end. But in the midst of all the coocoo clown shit going on in the third act of this movie, that moment barely pings my radar. And I’m sorry, but I have to complain about this again: Why couldn’t Rey have just been one of Luke’s students that survived the Jedi School massacre? That way, she’d have an actual relationship with pre-Kylo Ben and therefore a reason to believe he could change back. They could’ve been close, like family, which could’ve made for an interesting parallel to their Force bond in that it’s an undeniable connection they have that Rey doesn’t want. You could then have Rey decide to use their pre-established relationship against him, and it would’ve made her decision to go to him in TLJ a lot more understandable. It would’ve made her calling him “Ben” at the end of TROS have some actual weight to it because in this scenario, she actually knew him as Ben.  But no, I guess their forced connection in TLJ (which was contrived by Snoke, just for the record) is all the convincing Rey needs. Yeah, okay. I don’t know. TROS just makes it so apparent to me that Rey was originally intended to be a Skywalker, and they just threw in the Rey Palpatine twist because it’s 2019, and if your audience can follow the clues you set out for a plot development and draw logical conclusions, that means it’s predictable and therefore Bad.

Sheev Palpatine is a right dumbass. If he’d just shut up and let Rey kill him, he would’ve gotten what he wanted, but no! He had to explain to her his entire stupid plan, thereby giving her a very compelling reason NOT to kill him. And you know what, he did the same thing to Luke and Vader in Return of the Jedi. Luke attacked Vader and almost had him when Sheev cut in just to be like “YESSSS, DEWIT, KILL HIM.” And then Luke pulled back! Just let the heroes play into your hands, Sheev, fuck!!!!

TL;DR version: It’s... definitely a mess, but it’s not irredeemable. I think it’s worth watching just for the main trio’s moments and Sheev Palpatine hamming it up. I did think there were a lot of would-be emotional moments that just felt totally unearned (like Luke’s Force Ghost, Kylo’s vision of Han, Rey saying “Ben”), but there were others that were very effective (like the trio hug at the end, Finn sensing Rey’s death, Poe thinking about having to lead without Leia).

I think I liked it a little more than TLJ (which I didn’t hate, just found it very whelming), but TFA’s definitely going to stay my fav.

[malaysiankpopfans]

EXO Embraces Singapore with EXO Planet #3 – The EXO’rDIUM – in Singapore

SINGAPORE, 2nd April 2017 – Much to their fans anticipation, world’s top Kpop group, EXO is back in Singapore for the third tier of their world tour EXO Planet #3 – The EXO’rDIUM – in Singapore!

As soon as the lights went off, the eight members of EXO emerged on stage with explosive charisma rocking the stage with a remix of their hit title tracks “MAMA”, “Monster” and “Growl”.

The Main Rapper of EXO, Chanyeol greeted their Singaporean EXO-L’s with Singaporean accent, “Long time no see!” while the group’s Main Dancer, Kai hoped for the fans to enjoy the concert that they have been preparing for a long time.

“I could barely see any space. Seems like you guys really miss us”, the eldest, Xiumin referring to the crowd that filled up the venue wholly during the show.

When the Main Vocalist of EXO, Baekhyun, expressed, “I am always happy whenever I’m in Singapore”, the confetti pops out on stage out of sudden so he jokingly said, “Perhaps the machines are happy too.” (MKF: LOL Baekkie boo)

Meanwhile, the leader showed his credibility by interacting with fans all in English, “Hi guys! I’m Suho from EXO. Do you miss us? (MKF: Yes oppa, sooooo much although we watched you in Malaysia like couple of weeks ago XD) Long time no see. We’re ready! Are you ready?”, which turned the crowd all hyped for the next performance.

Up next, EXO got themselves all wet for “White Noise”, “Thunder” and “Playboy” stage followed by an exotic performance of “Artificial Love” with the members grinding on the canes just like what we saw on the DVD! (MKF: We can’t believe our eyes too ><) We heard that fans from surrounding countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei especially came here to see the rain stage live in Singapore. It’s a special stage where the EXO members get rained on literally for their “White Noise” performance as the song relates to the rain.

너는 비가 되어 내려와

(Don’t you worry baby)

조금 더 세차게 내려 줄래

복잡한 내 마음이 다 씻겨지도록

Trans:

You become the rain and fall down

(Don’t you worry baby)

Could you fall down a little harder?

So my complicated feelings will all be washed away

After that, the members were back on stage with angelic white outfits which completed their look as the prince of the night to perform an adorable rendition of “Unfair”. During a part in which a member picks up a phone call, Suho lovingly wished through the phone call, “Hello Singapore, I just wanna say I LOVE YOU.” (MKF: awww~)

They also prepared a ‘special gift’ for their fans with Chanyeol playing the guitar during “My Lady”, “My Turn to Cry”, “Moonlight”, “Call me Baby”, “Love Love Love” and also “Lady Luck” medley complete with SeKai’s dance duo. Chanyeol even teased their Singaporean EXO-L for being shy, “You guys are following well but why when I give you the mic you didn’t sing?”

The cheerful EXO members didn’t miss the chance to sing and dance together with their EXO-L’s during “Tender Love” performance in which a special choreography was made by the members so that fans could dance while waving their L’s.

Despite the absence of another Main Dancer, Lay, EXO-L’s cheered for him with all their heart during one of the members’ units clip. Fans continuously chanted “Zhang Yi Xing” earnestly showing their support for all 9 members although only 8 of them were present.

The crowd was turned on by “Overdose”, “Transformer” and “Lightsaber” performance. “Lightsaber” performance is truly iconic as EXO members performed with lit up lightsabers since the song was specially made for their collaboration with Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens movie.

Kpop idols are known for their interaction with their fans. This time round, Suho shared that they tried Chilli Crab. Baekhyun added, “But I like the bread that comes with the chilli crab,” and asked the fans to choose which one they like more. “I can still smell the chilly crab on my hand. Actually, you guys are lazy to peel the crab, right? I can help you to eat it!” the Main Vocalist, Chen, suggested that he can help the fans to peel the crab skin and they shall eat together! (MKF: How romantic of you huhuhu) D.O simply said he love the chilli crab while Suho tried his cheesy pick up line on his fans, “I like chilli crab, but nothing is better than you.” (MKF: #CiaCiaCia)

Baekhyun adorably whined for being on stage for long in the wet condition, “Hands, feet, smol” which Suho explained that Baekhyun said his hands and feet ‘shrank’ since they were wet and it was cold on stage. Good try Baekhyun.

Xiumin, Chanyeol and Sehun also chatted with their fans while the other members went for a change. The hyungs asked Sehun what does he want for his birthday which falls on April 12th. Sehun answered he needs food supply for his beloved little puppy, Vivi. Chanyeol said he could supply 2 million won of them while the bratty maknae demanded for 5 million instead. Xiumin said he could provide it for him, that’s if he would eat the dog food together with Vivi. Sehun sulked and asked the fans how shall he react to this hyung. Meanwhile, Chanyeol happily shared that he scored 207 points while playing bowling recently and he will try to become a pro within 3 months. (MKF: All the best Chanyeol!) Xiumin asked Chanyeol to show how he played bowling so he acted like one of the bowling pins and rolled on the floor when Chanyeol acted like he threw a ball.

The whole arena went wild during “Together”, “Full Moon”, “Drop That” and “Keep On Dancing” performance soon as they drop the EDM beat with incredible lighting, effects, and even pyrotechnics to turn up the crowd. They continued to play with their fans with “Lucky” followed by “Run”.

Before they ended the show, all the members shared how they feel to be back in Singapore. Chen shared that it’s regretful that they could only perform for one day in Singapore as they really enjoyed it here. Suho shared that he felt apologetic for not dancing as much during the EDM performance as he got leg cramps which earned loud chants from the fans saying “gwaenchanha” which means ‘it’s okay’ in Korean. He also added that he’s glad to enjoy the event with their fans prior to EXO’s 5th Anniversary which falls on April 8th. It marks the five years since they released their first official single “MAMA” on April 8, 2012. Kai hinted that they will be back with a brand new album while D.O expressed his relief that nobody was seriously injured throughout the show.

They pretended to end the show after the last speech before they returned for the encore performances with "Growl”, “Lucky One” and “Angel”. By that time, the stage was filled with cute little stuffed animals and soft toys thrown by fans. Baekhyun advised the fans that throwing items onto the stage is actually dangerous and was not allowed, but he secretly likes it. (MKF: yeah you keep playing with all the toys that you were the last to leave the stage lol)

Held by One Production, the concert went smooth following the schedule accordingly at Singapore Indoor Stadium and was attended by over 8,000 enthusiastic fans. Kudos to One Production and Singapore Sports Hub for handling such a huge amount of crowd successfully which makes it one of the best concert we’ve ever attended!

Terms reference:

Main Dancer - Their main role is as the dancer of a particular Kpop group

Main Rapper - Their main role is as the rapper of a particular Kpop group

EXO-L - EXO-L is the Global Official Fanclub of EXO, short for EXO-LOVE

Main Vocalist - Their main role is as the vocalist of a particular Kpop group

SeKai - How EXO-L refer to Sehun + Kai

mic - microphone

L - Referring to EXO’s Official Lightstick (Plural: L’s)

Zhang Yi Xing - EXO member Lay’s real name

Chilli Crab - A Singaporean seafood dish. Mud crabs are commonly used and are stir-fried in a semi-thick, sweet and savoury tomato and chilli based sauce.

CiaCiaCia - A term usually added by Malaysian at the end of a pick up line

hyung - Elder brother

maknae - The youngest

Article by: Rain

Photo Credits: ONE Production/Marcus Lin