#RY FOR THE ASK YAY

[kkat-astrophic]

please ramble to me about hinazumi i’ve never met someone who shipped this specific pairing so hard and i need to Know i need to experience this too

OH MY FUCKING GOD IVE WAITED FOR THIS DAY TO COME THANK YOU SO MUCH MOOTIE MWAH!!!

Hinazumi is in my eyes, the PERFECT AMAZING AWESOMEST ship of sdr2. I can understand why you'd like other ships though.

For starters, many people assume it's a rarepair because they haven't many interactions in the main game, with Mahirus death early on and all. I feel like if she lived longer this would totally flesh out the relationship, and she would be a sort of Chiaki kind of character, but we already have a Chiaki, so bye bye Mahiru *hits with a metal bat*

Spoilers from her on I guess

The main reason I ship this is because of mahirus ftes, if you play all of them in order you'll see EXACTLY what I mean.

"MAHIRUS A LESBIAN MAHIRUS A LESBIAN!" No??? She loves Saionji, yes, but she also has canonical attraction towards Hajime.

In her Ftes she starts as a tsundere. Well she's a tsundere until she dies, and technically I'm pretty sure hajime is too.

As the time she spends with Hinata grows, so does the personal connection that they have. Mahiru reveals that she had a bad father figure and her mother got her into photography, this shows that Mahiru doesn't really hate males at all. She just dislikes laziness and because of her father's actions in her mind all males are lazy. (This is entirely different to Tenko by the way).

Mahiru begins to act nervous in her final FTE and Hajime asks her if she's alright, she tells him that it'd be better to "do it" somewhere better and so she takes him to a beach.

Hajime pretty much assumes that its a confession of love and Mahiru tells him "no nevermind ill tell you when we're off the island" and with that they begin to take photos.

As they do so she promises that she will give him her camera once she gets off the island, which is because she trusts him (gift giving is a love language is it not? And based on Mahirus experience with other men it all seems to match - she assumes men are greedy and lazy, so if she liked one itd only make sense to give them something)

She also says that photos are the best way to see people, and that Hajime taking a photo of Mahiru is the equivalent to how he sees her as a person. This is both personality-wise and physically. She seems disappointed (something along the lines of "wow am I really that bland") which is something that usually wouldnt bother her because she's all about hard work and less about presentation.

Hajime promises to get off the island with her and be friends together, and then the FTE ends. That chapter she dies. That's very doomed isn't it? Like... danganronpa doomed lovers? Like?????

Anyway, throughout the game Hajime never loses his temper at mahiru for assuming things (but he does with Nagito) which might be a possibility to show his affection towards her.

Im also pretty sure they have interactions in the dr3 anime which I haven't seen.

I haven't played the games in a while so this is all from memory, but that's all the Canon proof of the main game that i can think of to why I ship Hinazumi.

I totally respect people who ship komahina, hinanami, mahiruxhiyoko, mahiruxsato etcetera. But hinazumi is just adorable and she should've lived longer to get the development she needed.

Its such a fun fluffy ship that I'd totally reccomend getting into. And her ftes make her a much more likeable character so check those out if you can!

[stars-on-my-bedroom-ceiling]

NEW MOOT ACQUIRED HALLO!!!!!

HULLO!! :DD

[animmal]

getting a handle on mavis is kinda 😵‍💫 bc on the one hand she's an empath (literally) and is shown to generally have more emotional intelligence/maturity than dr🅰️x/nebs/rocket combined, but at the same time she apparently saw no problem at all whatsoever w kidnapping kevin 🥓 for peter 😭 which is like???? i mean maybe those two things can be true at the same time but like... How. 😭 is she an empath or is she okay w taking people against their will to give as a present to her brother ?

[ispyspookymansion]

KORA HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY FRIEND

YAAAAY 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

EPIC WOLF CARD FOR ME……THANK YOU.

[kingofmyheart-19]

Begin Again

Chapter 5 -

Mack POV

"Hi, momma!" Riley says as we sit in front of Ally's gravestone.

I set the flowers in front of it, "Hey, babe. Beautiful day, huh?"

"The sun is shining, momma!" Riley squeals.

I pull out our bagels and give Riley her water.

"Momma, this week, we colored flowers and I colored one for you. Your favorite color too!"

I smile, "You're still the favorite."

Riley looks at me, "Yup! But I still love you too, mommy!"

"I know you do, peanut."

"Momma, mommy made a new friend. Her name is Alex, I really like her. She gives me tickles and pushed me on the swing! Just like you!"

I smile softly.

"She's a good person, babe." I say.

"Mommy went out with her, just like you and her used to! I said it was okay even though I still miss you." Riley says.

I kiss her head, "I said it's okay to miss you because I still miss you, but that you'd want us to be happy."

Riley starts eating her bagel and I smile.

"What do you think about the beach after this, bubba?"

Riley smiles, "Yeah, mommy!"

I smile, "Charlie and Alex are going to meet us there."

"Yay!" Her face lights up.

I chuckle, "Okay, we're going to finish our date with momma and then we will go."

"Momma will be at the beach too?" She asks.

I sigh, "She's everywhere, baby."

She looks down and keeps eating.

"Hey Ry?"

She looks at me.

"This week, you and I are going to meet a new teacher. She's going to help us with what happened with momma, okay?"

She looks down and nods, "I've been bad, mommy."

My eyes widen, "No, you haven't, baby. You're sad and angry and that's okay, but we have to cope, yeah? We have to do our best even if momma isn't here."

She looks at me, "Okay, mommy."

I kiss her head, "I love you so much and so does momma."

"Love you too."

Alex POV

I open the door, "Momma! We at the beach!"

I smile, "Yeah! You ready to see Riley and Mack?"

"YEAH!"

I chuckle, "Let's go, baby."

I put her down and grab the beach bag, heading out.

I start looking for Mack, when Charlie points, "It's Riley, momma!"

I let go of her hand, "Go get her, baby."

She takes off and I watch as Mack turns and sees us.

I make it to them, "Hi!"

"Hey! So this is like the most perfect beach day."

I smile and nod, "Yeah, it is."

I hear a dog barking and see a big yellow lab run up.

"Whoa, Max. Slow down, boy." Mack says.

"This your dog?"

She looks at me with wide eyes, "Um, yup! You like dogs, right?"

"No." I deadpan.

Her eyes widen further, "Uh-I, um-"

I laugh, "Just kidding. Love dogs. We have two, but Serv got them in the divorce."

She lets out a sigh, "Oh thank god. Hating dogs is like a deal breaker."

I kneel down, "Hi max! Ugh, you're adorable."

He licks my face.

"Momma! He's so big! Like blue!"

I smile at Charlie, "Just like Blue, baby."

I stand up and see Mack staring at me, "What?"

She shakes her head, "Nothing."

I bite my lip, "Okay. I have snacks and drinks. Charlie, you need sunscreen."

"I can do it." Mack says.

"Oh. Uh, okay, thanks!" I say and hand her the sunscreen.

She starts doing that and I pull out our beach blanket, laying it out.

I start peeling my clothes off and turn around to see Mack completely frozen.

I chuckle, "Eyes up here."

She looks up and I watch her face turn red, "I'm going, uh, swimming. Yep, that's where I'm going."

I laugh when she runs off.

"Alex, sand castle?" Riley asks.

I look at Riley, "Yeah! Let's build one!"

We start building a sand castle when Mack finally gets out of the water and comes back.

"Cooled off?" I tease.

She smacks me with her towel and then sits on the blanket next to me.

"How was your morning?" I ask.

She bobs her head, "It was good. It's always peaceful when we go."

I smile, "You're okay?"

She nods, "Yeah, I'm okay."

She reaches over and grabs my hand and I smile wider.

"I had to tell Riley that she's going to see a social worker, but I told her it was a new teacher that's going to help her and I with what happened to her momma." She sighs.

I rub my thumb over her knuckles, "Did she take it okay?"

She bobs her head, "She said that she was bad. I hate that. She's not bad and I don't want her to feel that way. I just know that she's upset and doesn't know how to cope."

"A social worker will help. Is she having a hard time at preschool?" I ask.

She nods, "Yeah. Not sharing, wanting to be by herself, shoving other kids, not napping. But I watch her now and she seems okay."

I turn and look at her and Charlie building the sandcastle a few feet away.

"She also knows that you're right here. You're her security blanket, but at school, you're not there."

"Maybe, that's definitely possible. Maybe Charlie is the perfect friend for her, just like you're the perfect-"

She stops and shakes her head then pulls her hand away from mine.

"Mrs. Hughes!"

She turns and I look to see a couple of high school students.

"Hey Jamie!" Mack says.

"Nice day for the beach, right?" The girl says.

"Definitely, you going to surf today?"

The other girl speaks, "She's trying to, but it looks rough out there."

"It's not even that bad, babe!"

Mack chuckles, "Well, if you go out, be safe."

She gives a thumbs up, "See you at GSA this week?"

Mack nods, "You know it. Bye!"

The girls walk off and Mack turns to look at me.

"What?"

"Just impressive." I say.

"Momma! Snack, please?" Charlie calls.

"Yeah, baby. Riley, you want some fruit?"

"Yeah!" Riley cheers and runs over.

"Here, fruit."

They start eating and I look over at Mack, who looks deep in thought.

I reach over and grab her hand, which she doesn't pull away.

She looks at me and gives a small smile.

"Hey. As slow as you need, remember?"

She squeezes my hand and we watch the girls.

'Patience.'

Mack POV

"They're out." I say as I walk into the living room.

She chuckles, "I'm not tired, momma." She mocks Charlie.

I laugh, "She was out before Riley. They're cuddling in her bed."

"Cute."

She takes a deep breath, "Hey, what happened earlier?"

I look at her and pull her outstretched legs onto mine.

"I almost called you my girlfriend."

Her eyes widen.

"Just, with last night and then today, that was how I was feeling. But the word almost coming out of my mouth scared me." I say.

She reaches and grabs my hand.

"I'm patient. If you're not ready for that, then we wait."

I nod, "I want to be ready, we had an amazing night last night."

"And I don't want to rush into anything if you're not ready." She says pointedly.

I bob my head.

"Come here."

She pulls me between her legs and I lean my head back onto her shoulder.

She kisses my cheek and wraps her arms around me, which I grab.

I grab the remote and a blanket, pulling it over us.

I turn on Harry Potter on the TV and she chuckles, "Such a nerd."

I smile, "You'll learn to love it."

She laughs, "I will."

We watch the movie and I feel myself succumb to sleep.

"What are they doing, Charlie?" I hear Riley.

"They're cuddling." Charlie says.

I open my eyes and see Charlie and Riley staring at us.

I hear Alex sigh and watch as she opens her eyes.

She smiles, "Hi."

"Hi. Um, we have an audience." I shift my eyes and watch she follows my line of sight.

"Morning, girlies!" She says.

"Momma, it's dinner time!" Charlie says.

She laughs, "Guess so. How does everyone feel about pizza?"

"PIZZA!" Charlie and Riley yell.

I chuckle, "Pizza, it is I suppose."

Alex looks at me, "I'll order."

I nod.

"Mommy, want to show Charlie my toys!"

We watch as they run off and I turn to see Alex looking at me.

She leans in and connects our lips then pulls away, "Hey."

I smile, "Hey."

Her face becomes serious, "You snore."

I chuckle, "Ally recorded me."

She chuckles, "I wanted to. I just rubbed your back and you stopped."

I feel my heart skip a beat.

"You figured out the trick." I say.

She nods, "Yep, I did."

I sit up and stretch, "Beach wipes me out."

"Me too." She says.

I look over at Max's dog bed, "And Max too."

She laughs.

"Well, it was successful. First of many beach days." She says.

I look at her and smile.

'First of many beach days.'

Alex POV - next day

"Riley and Mack here, momma?" Charlie asks as we walk in.

"They'll be here soon, baby. You're going to go with Dani in a little bit."

She nods and walks with me.

We get into the locker room and I set my stuff down.

"Momma?"

I turn and look at Charlie, "Yeah, baby?"

"You were cuddling with Mack yesterday."

My eyes widen and I kneel down, "Yeah, I was."

"And I saw you kiss her, momma."

My eyes widen further.

I gulp and nod, "Yeah, baby, I did. It's because I like Mack."

"Like a friend? Can I kiss my friends?" She asks.

I shake my head, "More than a friend, baby. You know how auntie Ash and auntie Ali are married and they have Sloane?"

She nods, "They're in love. Just like you and daddy were. Are you in love with Mack now?"

'Oh my god, why is this happening right now?'

I sigh and shake my head, "I'm not in love with her yet, but I really like her."

"So you and daddy are never getting back together?"

I kiss her head, "No, baby. But daddy and I love you. Okay? Just because we're no longer in love does not change that."

She nods, "I like Mack. And I like Riley."

I smile, "I like them too, baby. A lot."

She thinks about it, "Can I go play?"

"Yeah, here, brought your toys."

I set her bag down and she sits down to play.

"Well, that was something." Taylor appears out of nowhere.

"Holy sh- where did you even come from?"

"I'm stealthy. So you like Mack? You're kissing her? Tell me more." She inquires.

I sigh, "I do and I am. We had the best date on Friday night. She wants to go slow."

She nods, "Well, good for you. I'm happy for you."

I smile, "Me too. She's really an amazing person."

She smiles.

"Alright you lovesick lady, time to go crush Portland."

I smile and start getting dressed.

"Hey Al. I'll take her up." I look and see Dani, Charlie's nanny.

"Thanks. Okay baby, kisses."

She runs over and gives me a kiss.

"Goodluck, momma! Love you!"

"Love you too, baby."

I watch as she runs off and then grab my stuff to go warm up.

I walk out and hear my name.

I look and see Riley, sitting with Charlie, Dani and Mack.

I wave and make eye contact with Mack, who smiles at me and gives me a thumbs up.

We quickly run through warm ups and I walk over to where they are.

"Knuckles, Riley!" I call and she leans down and bumps my fist.

I kiss the palm of my hand and give Charlie a high five.

I then stare at Mack and kiss the palm of my hand and hold it up.

Her eyes widen and she smiles.

She kisses the palm of her hand and connects it with mine.

"Goodluck!"

"See you after!"

I run off and head into the locker room.

"Love sick." Taylor whispers.

I shrug.

'I am love sick.'

[spagheddiediaz]

wip wednesday / tease tuesday ~

HI it's been a minute since i posted one of these (or been on here) i'd love to blame my job but it is unfortunately seasonal depression beginning! yay!

anyway here's a little silliness from my 5+1 fic <3

_

“How’s Buck?” May asks with a smirk on her face. 

Eddie jumps at the sudden presence in the doorway, his phone nearly flying out of his hand. He still wasn’t used to working a desk job, and was still getting used to everything it entailed. Mediocre coffee, one-ply toilet paper (sociopaths), and people (May and Linda) barging into his office every twenty minutes or so to ask questions that could very easily be sent through that weird Microsoft app that IT installed on his computer against his will a few weeks.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.” She says sweetly, but her knowing smirk still hasn’t faded. 

“You said that yesterday. And the day before.” Eddie points out, unable to stop himself from glancing down at his phone. Again. “You never answered my question.” She makes her way into the office, leaning against his desk as she tries to sneak a glance at his phone, which Eddie promptly clicks off as soon as she’s close enough to be able to read anything.

Eddie rolls his eyes and tosses his phone onto his desk. “That was Carla.” He says a little too confidently. 

“Is that why Bobby just called me and told me to come in here and ask you politely to stop texting Buck because he’s behind on chores?" She asks innocently, glancing at Eddie's phone which right on cue, lights up with another message from Buck.

Eddie crosses his arms over his chest. "You call this polite?"

-

tagged by: @callmenewbie @fionaswhvre @forthewolves @disasterbuckdiaz @thewolvesof1998 @wikiangela @theotherbuckley @watchyourbuck @hippolotamus @jeeyuns @king-buckley

tagging @shitouttabuck (hi nina <3) @daffi-990 @brokenribsdiaz @loserdiaz @monsterrae1 @eddiebabygirldiaz (hi ry baby) and anyone else i'm missing ok thank you <3

[rleonard9]

All the little kids would be freaking out cause Ryan and all these cool older hockey players are there

oh the kids were attached to him all throughout the hour that they were on the ice

kept on asking him questions and one caught ry staring at leighton

“is miss leighton your girlfrienddddddd.” ryan laughs

“she is my girlfriend.” the kids giggle

“OOOOOOOO ryan has a girlfriend.” leighton overhears and comes over “miss leighton is ryan your boyfriend.”

“yes he is,” she smiles “are you distracting him?”

“noooo just asking him.”

“mhm, is he teaching you stuff?”

“so much, can we have him always?” ryan smirks looking at leigh

“i’ll see if he is not busy.”

“YAY.”

[stardusthuntress]

What is Lost, Can Also Be Found

Fives Lives AU! 

Fives x gnMandalorian!reader (yay for beskar) 

Word Count: ~4.3k 

Summary: while out on a mission with Rex and Echo (post-TBB s3), you discover something you’d all thought you’d lost a long time ago

TW & A/N: angsty story, but happy ending! Fives has had a rough time, something along similar lines to Echo’s story… so expect mods… sorry. I swear this whole thing came to me in like a waking fever dream sorta thing, it was outta the blue when I was just relaxing one day and I had to let the story become words on a page so I could share a hug with all of you guys <3 

dividers by: @/djarrex

“Ok, I’m in the armor…ry…” your eyes are wide, unsure of what you’re seeing. 

This room had been labeled “armory” on the schematic Echo was able to get ahold of. But aside from a single rack of blasters and droid poppers in the middle of the room, visible from the door, this did not look like an armory. It was a huge room, tubes of liquids lined the ceiling connecting everything. And the walls… there was no way this was any kind of armory. 

The walls are lined with… well, some strange type of cryotubes… filled with familiar, identical faces, identical personalized faces. Faces of troopers who’ve already seen battle, already been out there in the thick of it long enough to individualize themselves and bare the scars of many tough battles. But what are they doing here? And why was this room labeled armory in the schematics if they aren’t… oh… OH… KRIFF… as if this couldn’t get more horrifying than it already was…. 

You step closer to the pods as you walk further into the room, needing more information. 

Each of these men has a pair of blinking lights just under the skin of their temples, as though they are droids sitting on their chargers, waiting for a signal. 

And many of them seem to have mods, or evidence of mods, or other scars from intense surgery that wasn’t properly healed on or around vital organs. 

You keep walking further into the room until something catches your attention as you step past one of the pods, forcing you to halt in your tracks in disbelief. 

It was the lights flashing on their temples that caught your attention, but not just the lights on all the men, the lights on this one in particular. One of his lights has a weird dim shape to it, at least out of the corner of your eye it seems to. 

As you cautiously step backward and turn to face the sleeper in question you feel your stomach plummet. If the little tattoo on the side of his temple hadn’t given him away, the goatee that matched the blue and red symbol you knew so well on his helmet would have. But that was impossible! He was declared mentally unstable after voluntarily modifying himself and had to be terminated. Or… that’s what you had been told… but here he was… And he was very much not dead according to the vitals status panel. 

“NO!” The word bursts from you in a cowering whimper before you can stop it. 

“What happened? You ok?” Naturally, your comm was still on and Echo and Rex heard that… kriff. 

“Oh fuck… force’s sake…” is all you can manage, brain racing to figure out what to say to them. You can’t tell them, you just can’t. It would hurt them more than anything else, but they can’t blow the ship now either. 

“What is it? We’re on our way to you!” Rex’s voice can be heard over the sounds of blasters firing in your earpiece. 

“NO! I’m fine. I’m fine. We can’t blow the ship. Oh, stars, there’s… we have to protect this room! We can’t let it get taken, and we can’t let them signal anyth—” There’s movement behind you, and you dive out of sight behind the cryotube that had caught your attention. 

In your ear you can hear Rex and Echo asking what happened. Knowing they will go quiet in a moment if you don't answer, you remain silent, watching the movement in the room. 

Back near the door, one of the tubes opens, the lights on the man’s face blinking faster. 

His eyes open slowly, revealing blank eyes, and the light goes steady and then turns off. He’s clad in familiar white armor decorated with brown accents and ram horns. As you watch, he steps out and moves methodically towards the door, picking up a blaster as he passes without even looking at it on his way out of this strange room, his movements strangely… robotic…

“Keeli?” You whisper. 

“What?!?!” Rex is confused. Keeli was listed as KIA. 

“Uhh, I think… Captain Keeli is on his way to you?” You try to explain, but you can practically hear their eyebrows raising as they exchange glances during their firefight in the hallways not far away, so you keep going, hoping something makes sense to them. “Except it’s not really him. I mean, it is, it’s him, but he seemed… kinda… blank… didn’t seem to notice me though, but we gotta get him back here and back into his pod. Preferable without hurting him. And we gotta steal this room… the whole room… and we can’t let it get activated when we do that… Karking haran [fucking hell]… yeah, it's not good Rex. I’m fine, but what’s in this room is bad. Really bad. Just… knock him out… and get him back here… asap….. Echo, is there a way to disconnect this room from the rest of the ship? It doesn’t look like the rest of the ship, maybe it is removable or something?” 

“On it.” Echo must have scooped into the ship again. 

“Don’t look into what’s in it yet!” you warn, dumbfounded that you forgot that crucial bit of information earlier. “Just get us out of here and block all signals being sent to this room, yeah?” You instruct. If he finds out when he’s digging through the ship, that would be the worst way to learn about all this, especially the if the man whose cryotube you’re currently hiding behind is who you fear he is. 

“OOOkay,” Echo seems to think it’s a weird request, and he’s right, but he trusts you, so he’s running with it for now. “Yeah, it can disconnect, it's a later addition… ship wasn’t designed to have it… I’ll need some time to scramble signals sent to it and decrypt the disconnect controls. Rex?” 

“I’ve got you,” Rex replies. 

You hadn’t realized it, but while listening to them, your eyes had glazed over, drifting to stare at the door but only as a subconscious safety monitor, you weren’t really seeing the door. 

As the conversation ended, you blinked, crawling out from your hiding place and standing up. You’d bought yourself some time to figure out what the fuck was going on in this room and how to get these men out of it. You turned to look at the control panel on the side of the weird, coffin-shaped boxes the men were each stored in. 

Hmm, difficult to say what was done here, the keypad was no indicator, just a status panel with basic controls. You glanced back at the man inside for a fleeting moment and froze, staring at the status panel. 

Were his eyes open a minute ago? 

You blinked and looked around, not sure if you were seeing things. A quick glance around the room confirmed the men’s eyes were all closed. So you looked back at the man in front of you. 

His eyes were definitely open, and they were starting to look panicked and pained as they bore into you. You had to get him out. 

You slammed your hand on the “open” button on the controls, eyes glued to the man’s face as the doors to the cryotube opened with a dramatic swoosh of fog. 

“Trooper, is that you? You ok? What happened? How did you get here? Who put you in this—?” But you cut yourself off. he was being weirdly quiet. That wasn’t like the man you knew. 

His eyes were growing larger with fear. He clearly didn’t have any answers either. 

He gasped for a breath, but didn’t move. He seemed to be struggling, his whole body was trembling, but he wasn’t moving much. 

His breath came out in gasps. He was clearly trying to break free from something while also trying desperately not to panic. 

You needed to get him out, and fast! 

There were no visible restraints on him, but clearly something was holding him back. Your attention went back to the control panel. 

On the screen a single question was lit up “status: ready. Activate?”, and three buttons blinked to life below it “activate”, and “release”, and “terminate”. 

Well that last one was unsettling, to say the least… 

You jabbed the release button as quickly as you could. Turning immediately to the face you knew so well. 

A tear raced down his cheek, but then a look of surprise raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes, and he gasped again, yanking a hand up in front of his face so he could stare at it. 

His breathing was still erratic and gasping, but he seemed to be rediscovering his mobility, though his whole body was quivering, probably from shock. 

“Good! Good job, trooper! Fight it, that’s it!” You encouraged. 

He looked past his trembling hand at you, a pleading look in his eyes. 

He probably wanted answers, but you didn’t have any, so instead you offered a hug and a comforting smile. 

Two shakey hands reached for you and he started to lean forward, albeit clumsily. 

In the back of your mind a warning flared, reminding you this was not a good idea, that you had no idea what they had done to him. Based on Keeli’s movements a moment ago, it wasn’t good. But the desperation and sadness in his eyes was too much to resist. He needed someone right now, and you wanted to be here for him. 

You immediately stepped forward and cradled him against your shoulder and chest. One hand comfortingly stroked the hair that had begun to grow back slowly during his time in cryo, the other rubbing his back. 

He took a ragged breath, and you could feel tears starting to stain the garments beneath your armor. 

“Easy now trooper, I’ve got you. We’re gonna get you out of here. Breathe with me, trooper. In…… and out…… good! Keep going! In… and out… in… and out…” 

commotion in the hallway alerted you to Rex and Echo’s approach. 

“Incoming!” Rex called. “Echo needs a socket,” he warned. 

You shielded the man on your shoulder, a hand automatically coming up to cover the pulsing light on his temple, hiding his identifying mark from view as you scoured the room for a port for Echo.

Echo burst in, brow furrowing for a moment in confusion. He too thought this was the “armory” but it sure as haran [hell] didn’t look like one, and a strange man is crying on your shoulder, but when you pointed him to the terminal he needed, he pushed aside the confusion and began working on freeing the room from the confines of the ship as fast as he could. A true ARC, compartmentalizing and focusing on his task to protect everyone. Aware there would be time for questions if he could do his job and get everyone out alive first. 

Rex was hot on his heels, covering his back, with Keeli draped over his shoulder, unconscious as requested. 

You pointed to the empty tube you had seen Keeli step out of, and Rex placed him back in it, clocking the “sleep” button to keep him under for the time being. 

Only a few minutes later, the room was freed, Captain Howzer had swung by in a stolen ship, grabbed the container of a room you were all in, and you were safely in hyperspace. 

“Ok, now, what the FUCK is this place?” Echo was rightfully angry. This appeared to be some continuation of what the Techo Union had been doing to him. Clone bodies, but controlled minds, kept alive by mods, but slaves to the Empire’s will. 

“Yeah, I don’t know either, but tell me how many of these men you thought were dead?” You offered, eyes wide with pain and anger and hate for the Empire, still cradling the man crying on your shoulder, though his breathing pattern was calming slightly as he let it out. 

Rex stood still and silent in the middle of the room, his back to you, but you could see his fists clench. He was angry too. You all were. 

“But they can fight it,” you said, looking at Rex’s back. 

Rex and Echo immediately turned to you. 

“They can fight it. This one did. He’s a strong one. He broke through whatever they did to them while I was standing here.” 

They approached, Rex putting on his comforting Captain demeanor, ready to talk to this brother to see what he knew. The man was still a sobbing mess on your shoulder, gripping your waist tight with white knuckles like he was afraid of the truth of this room too. 

“He doesn’t know either.” You explained, “He was so scared, I had to do something. I don’t know what they’ve done to him or how to deactivate it, but I couldn’t leave him in there alone and immobile and very much awake.” You tell Rex, worry making it a bit of a rambling mess. 

“It’s ok,” Rex pats your back, “One thing at a time,” he takes a deep breath, trying to release the anger to comfort you both. 

“Well, it’s gonna be more than one thing at a time, it has to. You’re not gonna like this,” you glance at the man in your arms. 

Rex looked at you with concern. And then his eyes widen with horror. He realizes you meant he knew this one. More than he’d known Captain Keeli. He knew this man, whoever it was, well. His gaze drifted to the man, racked with sobs, though they were beginning to subside. He did know this man. The posture of his grief was so familiar. And the way his thumb dug into your bicep as his hand shifted to your arm. He remembered holding this man in the same way you were… years ago… 

Echo approached now too, aware of the elephant in the room as you glanced between them. He too knew this man, your expression told him. He and Rex exchanged a worried look as your attention diverted to the man in your arms. 

“Hey… you ready, trooper?” You asked gently. 

He took a deep stuttering breath and nodded into your shoulder. 

You held his gaze and took another deep breath, and he matched it. And then you let your hand fall away from his temple. 

Rex and Echo’s faces went from concerned to stunned. 

There, beneath the light on his temple was one little number. One little number that meant everything to them. One little number belonging to a man they thought they’d never get back again. But it couldn’t be him… could it? 

Rex stepped forward and placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. 

The man’s head lifted, a watery eye appearing slowly over your shoulder, red and puffy. A fresh tear streaked down his cheek as he looked at them for a moment. Then his eyes widened, and he sat back and looked at you as you watched him with kind eyes. His eyes held a look of disbelief in them. But you nodded at him, and he turned back to the men behind you. 

“Rex?” The trooper asked, his voice hoarse from disuse. 

Rex nodded, and flicked away a tear of his own he’d never admit to. 

“Fives?” A far more tentative voice behind Rex asked. 

The trooper blinked and looked past Rex, nodding. He knew this man too, but he was struggling to place him. Which seemed odd, given the amount of mods on this trooper, surely those would be hard to forget! …unless the man hadn’t had them when he’d known him? Those big eyes he knew well though. Not because every brother shared the same eyes, but because he knew how to tell a brother apart from their eyes. And these eyes he’d known since he was small. Always full of stronger emotions than any other brother he’d ever met, but always reserved and hidden, behind his helmet and regulations and adherence to being a perfect trooper to the letter… 

“Echo?” He asked, receiving a teary nod in return. “But… you died…” he mumbled. 

“So did you,” Rex chuckled, no longer trying to hide the tears on his cheeks as he clapped the man on the shoulder. 

You tried to step aside so Rex and Echo could hug Fives, but his grip on your waist tightened. He was staring in shock at Rex’s hand on his shoulder like he didn’t think he was real until then. 

“Easy, Fives, it’s ok. They’re really here too. It’s really them,” you encouraged. 

“Oh, Kark it,” Echo swiftly stepped forward and smooshed everyone into one big hug. He knew it was him, he didn’t have to ask, he knew his brother too well to be fooled by a fake, and so did Rex. 

For a few moments, none of you could say anything. Fives was alive! Which only made the reality of this room that much more horrible… but right now you wanted to focus on the fact that your favorite trio of the 501st was alive. 

Soon your shoulders were wet with tears from all 4 of you. 

No doubt it would also be filled with endless questions very soon when Howzer and the others inevitably came to investigate what created the change in plans that resulted in the theft of an entire room. But that could wait until the time came, right now, you had 3 tearful troopers to comfort. 

Fives lay on the exam bed, though it was more of a table honestly, only equipped with light padding… if it counted as padding at all, and you stood at the medical console adjacent to it. 

The droid on the other side of the bed was still scanning him. it had been for several minutes. 

That was odd, wasn’t it? Fives wondered. He looked up at you. 

Your eyes were wide and your face was growing more and more pale by the second. As he watched, you closed your eyes and looked away from the screen, swallowing hard. You held still for a moment, then shook your head like you were trying to clear it, and looked pointedly over at him instead of the screen, only to find him watching you with a question on his brow. 

You shook your head, glancing at the droid. “Just let us know when you have it all,” you told it. 

The droid simply kept scanning. 

You looked at him and perched on the cot next to him, shaking your head. “I’m so sorry they did all this to you. You hanging in there okay?” You ask gently. 

He nodded, nonchalantly, “Still doesn’t feel real. I remember it. Dying. Rex was there… and then I remember seeing your face looking at me in that tube… there are bits and pieces I can’t place. Bright lights overhead, voices I don’t know, blurs of dark and light mostly… then watching the cryotube closing around me… and starting to panic because I knew I couldn’t open it from inside… and then you, Mesh’la… I’m glad it was you that found me. I don’t know what I would have done if it had been someone I didn’t know. I’ve never been that scared before…” 

You took his hand and placed it in your lap, playing with his fingers in order to pointedly ignore the medical screen for a while longer. 

“I’m glad I found you too,” you told his fingers. 

“Scan complete,” the droid said, moving away to scan the sleepers in their cryotubes next. 

You took a deep breath, preparing yourself for how bad it was. 

Fives looked up at you, the fear returning to his face, his breathing pattern trending towards hyperventilating. Something told you he was afraid of the scan results too. 

“Easy,” you patted his shoulder, “I don’t want to look at it yet either. Let’s just take a minute, okay?” 

Fives nodded, still staring at you, unsure what else to do. 

So you offered him a hug again. 

He immediately sat up to accept it. 

The broad-shouldered, strong, warrior seemed to shrink as he nestled into your arms like a scared tooka. 

“You’re safe here, Fives, I’ve got you. I’m here,” you muttered to try to comfort you both. 

Rex paused in the doorway, watching you comfort Fives for a moment, listening to you both avoid looking at the results of the medical scans. So he stepped forward to do it so neither of you would have to. 

He reached the screen at the same time you stood up, but he watched the color drain from your cheek as you skimmed it, and patted your shoulder, gesturing for you to sit back on the cot with Fives. 

You complied, but not because you wanted to, because the contents of your stomach were threatening to revisit the room if you didn’t. 

You swallowed hard, eyes trailing to the collar of Fives’ blacks, where it had begun to slide down his neck as he moved around. It didn’t quite fit like it used to, it seemed loose to him. 

He knew you must have seen something there in the scan, on his neck. 

Fives needed to know what, so he reached for the collar of his blacks and pulled it down, but he wasn’t looking at himself, he wanted to see your reaction to know how bad it was first as he undid the fasteners on his blacks and revealed his chest to you. 

Your eyes widened. After a moment you reached out to touch, then suddenly pulled back and covered your mouth, closing your eyes again. 

Fives looked down at his chest and froze. That sure seemed like more than just the blaster hole that he remembered… 

You tried again to reach out and touch the scar, but you seemed either unable to or unwilling to touch it without his permission. 

“Please,” was all he could get out. He looked up at you, to find you watching him with concern. “Please,” he said, desperation lacing his tone, though he wasn’t sure exactly what for. 

Your eyes went back to the scars on his chest, and your hands slowly, slowly finished their journey to his chest and made contact with the scar. 

He watched your fingers brush the raised skin so gently he wasn’t even sure if you’d actually touched him. But the coolness of your fingers made him shiver, so you must be in contact with his skin. 

Your fingers traced lines around his chest, out towards his limbs, and back in and around the circular patch on his chest. 

So that hadn’t been a dream. He’d actually… died? Or he’d at least been badly wounded? 

Beneath the skin knarled with the scar of a direct hit from a blaster burn, he could see the dark coloration of metal parts and scaras in perfectly straight lines radiating away from the scar, likely from surgery. That seemed to make his stomach churn uncomfortably. He didn’t want to look at it, so he placed a hand over yours, pressing your hand flat against his chest and focusing on the feel of your warm hand on his skin. He closed his eyes and let the warmth of you ground him for a moment as he took deep breaths. 

Echo appeared in the doorway. He’d had to leave when the droid started the scan. He couldn’t watch it knowing Fives had been through something similar to what he’d gone through. 

“Woah, Deja vu,” Echo’s voice sounded like it was lost in a memory. “Except last time… I was there.” He pointed to where Fives sat with his scomp. 

Fives opened his eyes, looking at his best friend, with watery eyes. 

Echo finally found the motivation to keep moving his feet into the room, but he was sniffling. 

Echo came up behind you and nestled into your shoulder as he sat behind you, resting his scomp on Fives knee, just to make sure he was actually there and this wasn’t a dream. 

Rex sniffled too as he glanced at the three of you. You always were the Domino Twins' favorite, and right now you were his favorite too. Favorite what didn’t matter, just favorite. 

“Geez, Fives… they really did a number on you,” Rex’s voice lacked its usual confidence as he continued to stare at the screen, knowing he was failing to mask his emotions as he stared at it. 

Suddenly he turned to the trio on the bed and placed a hand on Fives’ shoulder. “When they took your body from me…….. they never let me see you again……... Kenobi had to use the Force to calm my mind. I never thought I’d see you again…… certainly not… alive…” 

Fives grabbed his hand too, tears tracking down his face as the three of you looked up at Rex. 

You giggled through the tears a bit. 

“What?” Echo’s voice sounded like he was grumpy that his pillow was giggling. 

“Nothing, I just… I didn’t think you two could become more like twins, and now…. Well, here we are,” you chuckled, wiping a stray tear from your cheek. 

The three men laughed and squeezed you tight for a moment. 

Rex placed a kiss on your hair in thanks, and turned back to the screen. “Alright, well, that’s something to start from at least. How similar are you to Echo? What are the most important pieces to keep you functioning, and is there anything you know you need to change right off the bat? Then we can worry about disconnecting you entirely from whatever activation system is in that damned room.” He started mumbling to himself as he flipped through the pages and pages of finds from the droid. 

Regardless of what happened, you knew only one thing: the four of you had survived the war and would find a new normal, together. 

Rex laughed when he and Hunter found the three of you snuggled together, fast asleep by the bonfire that night, the ocean breeze keeping you company. You had each other, and you’d all find a way to get through this, whatever the Empire decided to do with you next. After all, he needed to find a way to get his brothers out of their cryotubes and back to being individually functioning people. Fives was still wearing your beskar helmet, as you’d discovered that it blocked the signal and kept him safe from reactivation, but it wouldn’t last forever. Time to see what Omega had told him she was preparing. It was a good thing Tech and Nala Se had trained her, Rex didn’t know what he’d do if she wasn’t there to help with this one. 

Please don’t steal my work! I pour my heart into these so if you like it please reblog to share instead of reposting it! And NO dropping it into an AI to finish it for me! That’s stealing my work and feeding it to an AI without my consent. It is not okay to give an AI something you didn’t write yourself! 

taglist: @cw80831

[suddencolds]

🐑 and 👤 for the ask game? (but, because I am greedy, can I ask the fav character for an OC and a non OC?)

YAY! Thank you Myles!! :D 💖

🐑 - What scenario are you currently thinking about before bed?

Ooh, this is a fun question 👁️👁️ If I'm being completely honest, I've been thinking about Vincent coming down w something worse than a cold + Yves paying him a house visit. But what I should be thinking about is the company picnic fic sitting open in my tabs 🏃‍♀️

👤 - Describe your current favorite character (including OCs)

OC - is it a cop-out to say I can't pick a favorite btwn Vincent and Yves? 😭 omg. I'll flip a coin. To answer this question a little differently, I think I have the most fun writing Vincent's dialogue (esp when he's being more blunt/straightforward).

That said, I am grateful for how forthcoming Yves is in his narration, and I like how he wears his heart on his sleeve. I think if I were to write the entire series from Vincent's perspective instead, I would have a much harder time :')

Non-OC - Koko/mi from Gen/shin has my heart forever (love a pretty, well-spoken girl who is also a brilliant military strategist) 😭😭 I esp love her dynamic with Sar/a. But out of media I've consumed more recently, I like Kur/osaw/a from Cher/ry Ma/gic (characters who are revered by the public but are terribly human underneath are so 💕😭).

[ Ask list! ]

[number-one-hiphop-tribe]

Fine maybe I will ask Shion 😒.....to help me forge your signature <3 not getting rid of me that easy Ry~

-🐀

(How's your day? :))

actually, stay away from shion.

[ahhh my day was pretty good its morning now but it's raining which yay :DD how's yours?]

[grahamcarmen]

the alessia cara fan in me is applying almost Every Song from know-it-all (deluxe) to rc and I'm looking thru in the meantime for something too

also I love sending you asks like this it's like writing a letter! my laptop (well not mine but like the one I used) died so we got me a new one! digital art I missed you so

~ rys

Duly noted 📝 I have already heard 17 and im yours (think I've heard scars to your beautiful but im not sure in an im suspiciousit was blasted in malls a lot)but haven't heard the rest ! So ill arrange a sit down

😔I'm yours is so cute [and weirdly enough can see it more from gray to carmen ] like im MAD AT YOU FOR BEING SO CUTE AND ALTERING MY RUDE WHATS WRONG WITH YOU?

Looking for what ?

^^ ha yeah ✉ its nice to get them too

Oh yay !! Good for you on the laptop sitch!🥳

[khoicesbyk]

The Royal Romance.

Love Everlasting.

A/N: I had a different name and plot for this fic over a year ago. But after being in the RP community for more than a year, I've decided to write the current Royal Life of my favorite OTP.

Rated: Mature (at times can and will be Explicit. I'll be sure to change the rating when and if that happens). | Contains sexual content and strong language. (You know? The usual. Y'all should be used to this from me by now 😁) | Bolded and/or italicized words are conversations and thoughts of the characters. | Main Characters: King Marquise Rys (LI) and Queen Shanelle Miller-Rys (MC) | All Characters and names: (except MC and original characters created by me and/or other authors [their characters have been mentioned and/or used in the story with their permission] ) are property of Pixelberry.

Current Word Count: 13K words. (may be slightly more or may be slightly less. Look, I stop counting after editing and re-editing and driving myself insane. 🤷🏾‍♀️)

If you’d like to be added to my tag list. Just reblog or dm me and I will gladly add you! 😁😘

This series is rated Mature and/or Explicit. It is NOT reading material that is safe for those under 18. Reader discretion is STRONGLY advised!

Missing a chapter or want to read a chapter again? I got you covered! Click ——> Here!

TW: mentions of Abuse, Child Abuse, and Childhood Trauma! Reader Discretion is STRONGLY ADVISED!

Tag List: @choicesficwriterscreations

Boys Of Summer PT. 2.

Meanwhile, it was a party in the Maldives. When Marquise touched down at the private resort airstrip he was immediately chauffeured to the resort to his private ocean-view villa. Far as his eyes could see it was nothing but sunlight and crystal-clear blue waters. After changing, Marquise walked out to his deck and took it all in. When he looked at the outdoor bar he noticed a bottle of rum, whiskey, tequila, and scotch all of them were top-shelf liquors with a card next to them. It was a note from his wife.

Let loose. Have fun. I love you.

He smiled before pouring himself a glass of rum. Just as he downed that drink there was a knock at the door. It was the boys. They all filed into Marquise’s villa.

“Now hold on! Why is your villa bigger than the rest of us?” Logan asked.

Marquise shrugged. 

“Perk of fucking the owner every night. You get the owner’s villa. Take a look around.” he replied. 

The boys explored until they found themselves with Marquise around the bar. After pouring them each a drink Marquise raised his glass in a toast.

“Here’s to the girls. This was their idea.”

The men toasted. 

“Where did you find this place?” Sam asked His Majesty.

“I didn't. It was given to my father way back when and it was used by the nobles back home until they just stopped coming. And it sat vacant for years. And when Shanelle found out about it she decided to turn it into all of this.” Marquise replied. 

“I knew I liked Butta. Girl be on her shit.” Eddie quipped.

Marquise snorted before finishing his drink. 

“I don’t know about you guys but I'm going swimming.” Marquise announced.  

“You going down to the beach?” Logan asked.

“Nope. Right here. Off the side.” Marquise replied before walking to the edge of the deck and diving off.

When he resurfaced he was feeling it.

“What are you dopes waiting on? Get in here!” Marquise called out to the boys. 

Marquise watched as the guys jumped off. The boys spent the next two hours horsing around, laughing, and cracking jokes. This is what Shanelle wanted. She wanted her husband and the guys to relax and have fun. To be like kids that were locked in a candy store. That night after an amazing dinner literally for a King, Marquise decided to FaceTime his wife. 

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Hey yourself handsome. How is it?” she asked.

“You are a fucking genius! This place is beyond my wildest dreams,” he replied.

“Yay! I'm so happy to hear that you are enjoying yourself. How are the boys liking it?” she asked.

“They love it. We're having an amazing time.”

“Good. Very good.”

“I miss you and my little ones though.”

“We miss you too. But it's been good to have the girls and the kiddos here.”

“What did you all do today?” he asked.

“We took the horses out and let the kids ride in the field behind the stables,” she replied.

“Did the boys finally learn that the horses don't giddy up?” he asked.

She snorted. 

“No, at least not yet. They did learn how to feed the horse though,” she replied.

“Good. As long as you two aren't by yourselves in the palace.”

“Even if the others weren't here with us, Khari and I would've still spent the weekend here.” 

“I know.”

Shanelle noticed the tan her husband has gotten.

“You've been out in the sun.”

“How can you tell?” he asked.

“Your tan. You've gotten darker. The sun looks good on you.” 

“Thank you, my love. I plan on being in the sun as much as possible.”

“Sunscreen. Don't forget!”

“I won't. Since I know it's late there, I'll let you go so you can get some sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow. I love you.”

“I love you too baby. Sweet dreams.”

After blowing him a kiss, he ended the call and they both went to bed. The next day Shanelle woke up to giggles and the pitter-patter of little feet. 

“Good morning mommy!” Khari said as she climbed into her bed followed by Logi, Branden, and Brayden. “Morning TiTi!” 

“Morning babies! What are the four of you doing awake?” Shanelle asked.

“Auntie Bronwyn woke us up and we played for a little bit,” Khari replies. 

Shanelle watched as Brayden laid his head on her belly to listen for the babies. 

“Baby?” he asked.

“That's right angel. The babies are in my tummy.”

Branden put his hand on her tummy. 

“There?” he asked.

“Yes, baby. There. Although they might not be awake yet.”

“They're sleeping?” Logi asked.

“Yup. And you know how we wake them up?” Shanelle replied.

“How mommy?” Khari asked.

“Breakfast! Let's go get us some food!” Shanelle replied. 

Seeing the kids cheer made Shanelle’s heart leap. She walked with them to the dining room where the girls and the last two babies were. 

“Morning my beauties! Let's eat!” 

They had a smorgasbord of food to choose from complete with an egg station. After getting the kids squared away with their food, the girls got something to eat. When Shanelle sat down she had a plate full of food.

“Damn. What did you get?” Robin asked.

“A ham, swiss, and spinach omelet, French toast, three types of bacon, berries and cream parfait, Belgian waffles, breakfast potatoes, chocolate chip pancakes, and orange and cranberry scones. Why?” Shanelle replied. 

“You're gonna eat ALL of that Princess?” Nina asked.

Shanelle patted her belly.

“Table for three,” she replied. 

The girls laughed. 

“Mmmm! What kind of bread do they use to make the French toast?” Dee asked.

“Brioche,” Shanelle replied.

“Oh yeah, that's right! We have to remember that you’re a Queen now. So you’re into all the bougie bread.” Robin teases.

“And all the bougie butter. And all the bougie big ass breakfast buffets.” Shanelle quipped. 

Brayden tapped Shanelle on her leg.

“TiTi more?” he asked, holding up his plate. 

“Of course angel. Come on,” she replied.

“Are you sure?” Bronwyn asked.

“Yeah. You finish eating your food babe.” Shanelle replied.

Shanelle led Brayden to the buffet and got him what he wanted before taking him back to his seat. Before he sat down he told her thank you.

“Thank you TiTi,” he said before giving her a big hug and kiss. “Love you.”

Shanelle literally floated back to her seat.

“I am Brayden’s favorite Auntie. Thank you for coming to my TEDTalk! Have a good rest of your Saturday! God Bless!” 

The girls laughed. 

“Bronwyn, you better watch him. That's gonna be your heartbreaker.” 

Bronwyn snorted. 

“Just like his dad.”

“Worse!” Shanelle and Nina said in unison.

Meanwhile, in the Maldives, the boys were racing jet skis all up and down the beach. After a big breakfast of their own, the guys made it down to the marina where they were each given a jet ski.

“Wait! We get to keep these?” Eddie asked the attendant. 

“Yes sir. You each get a jet ski to keep. Each jet ski has your name on them.” the attendant replied.

“I love my big sister,” Logan said out loud.

Marquise snorted.

“I would hope so. She just gifted you a jet ski. So who's racing?” 

The boys hopped on and took off. Racing across the water enjoying themselves. This was what the girls wanted for their men. To be able to relax, have fun, and be themselves. They each work so hard and they needed time to just be guys. The boys split up after spending 3 hours on the water. Marquise and Dino took the time to visit the spa. The Deep Tissue Massage Marquise got was life-changing.

“Remind me to thank the Queen for this,” Dino said to Marquise as they walked back to his villa. 

“Noted,” Marquise replies.

When they got there the boys were there raiding the bar and smoking cigars.

“Why am I not surprised to see you boys here?” Marquise asked as he went behind the bar to pour him and Dino a drink.

“You got the best liquor and cigars. That's why.” Eddie replies. “Man these are smooth! Where you get this shit at?”

“Cuba,” Marquise replied. 

“¿Auténticos Cubanos?” Sam asked.

“Sí. Los he importado de una fábrica en las afueras de La Habana.”

Sam nodded appreciatively.

“Nice.”

“What the hell did y'all just say?” Eddie asked.

The men laughed. 

Meanwhile, the girls were setting up for painting the boys’ nursery. Well sort of. They had the kids change into bathing suits and swim trunks and had buckets of paint-filled balloons ready to go. 

“Alright, kiddos! When I say go, you throw.” Shanelle announces.

“Throw?” Branden asked before throwing his balloon at the wall.

“No, not yet baby. You have to wait until I say go.” 

“Go? Go!” Brayden said before throwing his balloon.

That's when Shanelle made a decision. 

“You know what? Have at it!” she said before getting out of dodge. 

She and the girls watched as the kids got to have fun throwing balloons and getting messy. It was a fun time had by all. And when all the balloons were splattered against the wall, the kids got to write their names. or at least they tried to.

The men were sitting around a poker table smoking cigars, drinking, and laughing. 

“I fold! You have been on a tear.” James said to Marquise.

Marquise snickered.

“Damn, just when I was having fun.”

“I'm not about to lose AJ’s college fund to you.”

“Now you know I would never allow my niece’s college fund to be depleted. Whatever you lost would've been replaced. You know me.”

James took a sip of his rum.

“This is true but still I'm good.”

“Very well,” Marquise said before turning to the rest of the guys, “who's up?”

That's when Eddie down his drink.

“Deal me in Lo.”

“You sure man? He's been unstoppable.” Logan said to Eddie.

“Ain't nobody scared of his ass,” Eddie replies.

A slow smirk bloomed on Marquise’s face. 

“Finally! A challenge! I was starting to get bored.”

“I’m about to rob yo ass,” Eddie said to Marquise.

“And I’m about to send you back to my sister in tears.”

Eddie scoffed. 

“Best 2 out of 3?” Marquise asked.

“Hell yeah!” Eddie replies.

“Deal the cards, Logan.” 

With liquor, cigars, food, and poker in hand, the boys spent the rest of the night enjoying one friendly competition after another.

And for the girls, it was movie night! Complete with chicken tenders, French fries, Chicken Caesar Salad wraps, applesauce for the babies, create your own hot fudge brownie sundaes, and 101 Dalmatians. The kids didn't even make it through the first 30 minutes before all of them were out like a light. 

After putting the kids to bed, the girls were gathered in Shanelle's room with wine in hand. They were discussing the latest chapter of The Forgotten Heir. Well, the girls were discussing it. Shanelle kept her mouth shut. Which was unusual for her. 

“Alright, Nelle you've been quiet. Way too quiet. What's wrong?” Robin asked.

“Nothing. I'm just sitting here listening.” Shanelle replies.

“That's just it, you don't listen. So what is it?” Nina asked. 

Shanelle took a big sip of her sparkling cider.

“Is it the book? Are you bothered by it?” Bronwyn asked.

“Bothered? Hardly. Annoyed that people are making a big deal out of nothing? Yes.” Shanelle replies.

“Now now Your Majesty. Be nice.” Dee said to Shanelle.

“I am being nice. I haven't called bullshit have I?” Shanelle asked.

“No. But you want to.” Nina replied.

Shanelle shrugged. 

“I feel for Myah,” Bronwyn said.

“That's because you’re little miss give everybody a chance,” Robin said to her. 

“I’m glad you feel for her because I don't.” Shanelle said.

“Why?” Bronwyn asked.

“Because your sister-in-law kept coming for my husband and she feels entitled to something that isn't hers to begin with that's why. I'm not about to feel bad for her or anyone that cares for her.” Shanelle replies.

“Okay. I get why you feel that way but you have to understand that she's hurt.” Dee said.

“Okay and?” Shanelle asked.

“Don't be like that Nelle,” Bronwyn replied.

“Don't be what? Fed up? The crown is more than just some fancy title. It is a job. One that is nonstop and never-ending.” Shanelle replied.

Shanelle sighed.

“Look, if she's angry, fine. I get it because Connie at the end of the day, was a cold-hearted, calloused, selfish, self-centered bastard. He didn't care about anyone but himself. But her anger at Connie should have nothing to do with my husband. She's not his responsibility. He owes her nothing. Connie did. And if Connie chose not to do right by her, then that's on him. The old man’s sins are not Marquise’s to pay. If she's gonna be mad at anyone, be mad at the two people who acted like they didn't know how a condom works.” 

“Ouch,” Dee said.

“Though her delivery needs major work, Nelle has a point. While it is heartbreaking that Connie chose his responsibility over Myah, you just can't expect Marquise to just hand over anything. Especially when he's got Khari and the twins to think about.” Robin said. 

“Finally someone gets it,” Shanelle said.

“I don’t know. If he didn't want her to have a title he wouldn't have granted her one.” Bronwyn quipped.

“He didn't want her to have it. Believe me.” a voice called out. It was Margo. “I apologize for butting in.”

“How do you know?” Nina asked Margo. 

Margo sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Because I have worked for The Royal Family for almost 40 years. A good 38 of those years have been spent serving The Family. I know all there is to know about Constantine.” Margo replied. “Constantine was a lot of things. A loving, caring, concerned father? Never. If he couldn't even do right by his sons, I can assure you, he would never do right by this girl.” 

“Then why grant her a title?” Nina asked.

“Let me ask this, why do you think he never married her mother?” Margo asked.

“Because there was a chance his enemies could come after her and her mother,” Bronwyn replied. 

Margo shook her head no.

“Only if she were the heir to the throne. Which she wasn't. Because the Monarchy would never recognize her.” 

“Why not?” Robin asked.

“Because he didn't marry her mother. Cordonian Law is crystal clear: the declaration he signed would only be valid if he married her mother. And Connie knew that. He was the King after all. But since he didn't, granting her a title is not an obligation for my son.” Margo replied. 

“So he signed it to do what?” Nina asked.

“Pacify if nothing else. You have to understand his thought process. If it wasn't selfish or self-serving Constantine did not care. That is who he was. A selfish, self-centered, cold-hearted, cruel, calloused bastard.” Margo replied. 

Shanelle poured Margo a glass of wine.

“Thank you, dear. Listen, what you girls read in that book is not who Connie was a father. Because if he was that concerned of a father, he wouldn't have left the raising of his two children to me and the rest of the staff. Not that I’m not grateful. Marquise was a wonderful child. Hard-headed and stubborn as an ox at times but no less loving and protective. Raising him and Leo was and is one of the joys of my life, but it should have been Constantine's responsibility. Not mine.”

“If you feel that way, why have you stayed all these years?” Dee asked.

“Because they needed someone to protect them from the madman he had become. The year and a half after Eleanor was killed was the worst of them all. To be fair every day that man breathed was terrible but those first 18-19 months were completely unbearable. And I was ready to resign. But my Prince begged me to stay. Besides, I couldn't leave two innocent children to face his wrath alone. I wasn't about to kidnap them either. That would've meant death for me and my family. So I promised Marquise that I would stay until he turned 18. And I have been here ever since.”

“You keep saying that Connie was a bad father but what exactly did he do?” Robin asked. 

Margo went quiet before clearing her throat and taking a sip of her wine.

“I'm not even sure I should tell this story because I swore to Marquise that I would take it to my grave.” Margo replies.

“What?” Bronwyn asked.

Margo looked at Shanelle.

“Marquise had just gotten his acceptance letter to Harvard, which was just about 5 months after his 16th birthday. Around that time, Connie would go into his study and drink himself into a stupor and then get belligerent as all hell. Well, one night my husband George and I were making our rounds as we did as the senior staff when we heard Connie’s raised voice coming from the King’s study. We knew it couldn't be good.” Margo replied.

“What was going on?” Robin asked.

“When we got there Connie was in Marquise’s face yelling and screaming at the top of his lungs. George and I were able to separate them. He took Constantine and I took Marquise with Connie still berating him, calling him everything but a child of God. George tried to get Connie to calm down and leave Marquise alone but that only angered him more. I had just gotten him to the doors when Constantine broke free of my husband and it happened.” Margo replied.

“When what happened?” Nina asked.

Margo closed her eyes while shaking her head.

“I watched Constantine ball up his fist and strike his own son.” Margo replied.

The girls went deathly silent. When Margo opened her eyes, she saw the look of shock and utter horror written on Shanelle's face. 

“Oh My God! Oh My God!” Shanelle whispered.

“The hit knocked Marquise back into the door and it stunned him. And that's not even the worst part, the worst part is Connie got ready to hit him again. But that second time my husband was able to catch his fist and pin him to his desk. That's when George told me to get Marquise out of that office. Imagine all 5’2 of me trying to drag a then 6’3 16-year-old out of his father’s office. When I finally got him back to his wing of the palace, he sat down on his bed with his head in his hands. And when he looked up at me, I saw all the rage, the shock, the heartbreak, and the pain in his eyes. When I sat down next to him, he laid his head in my lap and just cried. He kept asking ‘what did I do wrong?’ ‘Why does he hate me so much?’”

Margo paused to collect herself.

“I was able to get him to take a shower and get something to eat. But not before he told me…that wasn't the first time that Connie had hit him.”

The girls were in shock.

“I have a question.” Bronwyn finally spoke.

“Yes?” Margo asked.

“Why didn't you let Marquise go so he could bury that sonuvabitch?” Bronwyn asked.

“I couldn't,” Margo replies.

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! What do you mean you couldn't?” Robin asked.

“She's right.” Shanelle finally spoke. Her voice was shaky. “She couldn't. Neither could George.”

“What?! Why not?!” Nina asked.

“Because had Marquise hit his father, Connie would've wasted no time having him arrested and thrown in a dungeon,” Shanelle replies.

“But Connie started it!” Dee piped up.

“That wouldn't matter. Because at that time Connie was the Monarch. And the Parliament and Monarchy’s job is simple. Protect the Monarch at all times. Especially from family. It was a rule established by the Monarchy back in the 1600s when then Queen Kendra’s brother plotted to kill her and take the throne for himself.” Shanelle said. 

Margo nodded while taking Shanelle’s trembling hands in her own. 

“Connie would've spun the story to make himself the victim of an assault by his unruly and ungrateful son who wanted to usurp him and take the throne from him. And with many in the Parliament being stuck so far up Constantine’s ass at the time, they wouldn't have hesitated.” Margo said. 

Shanelle closed her eyes to stop tears of anger from rolling. 

“My husband never would've stood a fighting chance. The Parliament would've convicted Marquise without question. And Connie would've sentenced him to death.”

Margo nodded sadly.

“And I would've had to watch my sweet, cocky, thickheaded, loving, caring, protective boy. My beautiful son…I would've had to watch him walk to the gallows. And that would've killed me.” 

“The gallows? Like Pirates Of The Caribbean?!” Bron asked.

“Yes. Cordonia still believes in criminals being hung by the neck until dead. Marquise hasn't implemented it but it is a punishment in the books.” Shanelle replied.

Shanelle took a deep breath. 

“I hate that man. I hate him so much. If I could I would've killed him myself if his cancer hadn't beaten me to it. Maxwell told me years ago that Connie used to take whatever he was feeling when he was drunk out on Marquise but I never thought it would be that bad.” Shanelle seethed.

Margo rubbed Shanelle's knuckles.

“I'm sorry if I upset you. That was never my intention. And please don't think Marquise was intentionally hiding this from you.”

Shanelle nodded. 

“I know he wasn't. I’m not mad. Well not at him or you. I am furious with Connie. Absolutely disgusted. But that's exactly who that good-for-nothing bastard was. As Margo said, he was cold-hearted, callous, and cruel.”

Margo looked at Shanelle softly.

“This is why I fight so hard for him. That night was the first and last time he ever allowed Connie to break him and his spirit. As soon as he was able to, Marquise left for Harvard. And was determined to stay in Boston. He even invited me and my family to live there with him.” 

“Why didn't you move to Boston with him?” Dee asked.

“Because Leo abdicated that's why. There was no need to leave. The new King was coming home.” Margo replied.

Shanelle squeezed Margo’s hands gently.

“Thank you, Margo,” Shanelle said to her lead attendant.

“Of course, Your Majesty. Again I didn't mean to upset you and I can only hope my son won't be too angry with me for telling you.” 

Shanelle gave her a small smile.

“If he does get mad, you have a 4-year-old trump card in your pocket.”

Margo chuckled.

“Indeed I do. Now if you will excuse me, I will go check on the children.”

“Thank you, Margo.”

Margo smiled.

“Of course my Queen.”

Once Margo left Shanelle let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in before looking at her girls.

“Do you believe me now?” 

Robin threw her arms around Shanelle. Bronwyn just shook her head. Nina and Dee just sat there trying to process everything.

“He used to…” Bronwyn trailed off.

“Hit his son? Yes. He did.” Shanelle said. 

“That's…he…” Dee said. 

“Yeah. So while Myah’s version of Connie is cute as all get out, it's historically inaccurate. You wanna know who Constantine Leonidas Rys really was? Ask the son he abused. Ask the staff he always terrorized. Ask the people he exiled. Hell, ask the families of the people he had killed. They will tell you all you need to know. He wasn't loving, or caring, or compassionate, or concerned. He deserved his cancer. He deserved the pain it caused him. He deserves to sit in hell and rot.”

Shanelle shook her head as she angrily swiped away a stray tear. 

“Just know. Marquise is loved and protected by us all the same way he loves and protects us. And he will never ever have to deal with that sperm donor ever again.” Robin declared. 

“I need you girls to do me a favor. Do not speak of this to anyone. Please.”

The girls all agreed and Shanelle nodded gratefully. 

The next night was the final night in the Maldives for the guys. After spending all day doing their own things, they met for one final drink and salute to their amazing weekend together. 

“Well, boys! This is it. Our final night in paradise. We have been spoiled by our beautiful wives. We've had a great time together and we will be doing this again.” Marquise said in toast, “Here's to the incomparable FabBabes!” 

The boys saluted before downing the last of their shots. The next morning just before the guys checked out, Shanelle had one more surprise. She gifted each of the guys iced-out chains, rings, watches, and earrings. 

“It's official! Butta loves her some of me!” Eddie said as he flicked his wrist. The diamonds in his watch caught the sun. 

“You will break your wrist doing that,” Marquise said to him.

“You see this watch? Nigga it's worth it!”

Marquise shook his head with a smirk. This whole weekend was more than he could've asked for. But now it was time to get back home. Back to his life. Back to his job as King. But he would definitely be linking up with the guys again. When he got back to the palace he was greeted by his daughter. 

“Daddy!” Khari called out as she ran into his outstretched waiting arms. “I missed you so much, Daddy!” 

“I missed you too, my love,” he said as he hugged his daughter. 

“And what about me?” Shanelle asked Marquise with an eyebrow raised.

“I always miss you, my Queen,” he replies with a sweet kiss to his wife. 

“Good answer Your Majesty.” 

Marquise spent the rest of the afternoon and evening with his two favorite girls and after putting his little one to bed, it was time for some one on one with the woman of his dreams. They were snuggled together. 

“I missed being in these big strong arms of yours,” Shanelle said to him.

“I missed having you in my arms,” he replies, “did you and Khari have fun this weekend?”

“Yes, we did. I can't wait for you to see the boys’ nursery. Those kids made a mess. Even the baby babies got in on the fun.”

Marquise groaned.

“Are you sure I don't need to hire professionals?” he asked.

“Yes. I wanted the kids to have fun, get creative, and be messy as all get out,” she replies. 

Marquise chuckles.

“Fair enough. So what did you and the girls do while I was gone?” he asked.

“The standard overindulgence, gossip, and giggles,” she replied.

“How much overindulgence, gossip, and giggles happened?” he asked.

“The girls talked about your little sister's new book,” she replied.

Marquise rolled his eyes.

“Blood makes you related. It doesn't make you a family.”

“This is true but she's still related to you.”

“No, she's related to him. She's his child out of wedlock. Not mine. We have nothing in common. I have one blood sibling. That's it.”

Shanelle shrugged. 

“Okay. I'll back off. But that's not all we talked about.”

“What else is there?” he asked.

Shanelle sat up in bed and cleared her throat before speaking.

“Margo came in mid-conversation and she…” Shanelle trailed off.

“And she what?” he asked as he sat up as well.

Shanelle turned her head while biting her bottom lip. Marquise gently grabbed her chin and turned her face so that she was looking at him.

“Tell me.”

“Promise me you won't be angry?” she asked in a soft voice.

“I promise now what is it? You’re starting to scare me,” he replies.

“Margo told us that Connie…he…” Shanelle struggled to say the words. Not that she needed to. Marquise already knew what she was going to say.

Marquise closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“She told you about?” he asked.

“The time he punched you in front of her and George? Yes,” she replied.

Marquise nodded slowly.

“Please don't be mad at her. She didn't tell us to betray your confidence or your trust. The girls wanted to know why Connie was so bad and that's when she told us.”

“I'm not mad at mom. Because truth be told, I should've told you years ago. I was just…”

“Still traumatized?” she asked.

“Something like that,” he replied.

Marquise let out a breath.

“She said you told her that wasn't the first time he hit you.”

“That's right. He had hit me before. That time was just the first time he’d done it in front of an audience.” 

Shanelle’s heart began to break. She'd never seen her husband like this. So vulnerable.

“If you don't mind telling me, when was the first time?” she asked.

Marquise set his jaw then inhaled and exhaled slowly before he spoke.

“I was 14. I had just won my latest chess match and I wanted to show him the trophy I'd gotten. I knocked on his door but I didn't hear anything. And I should've just left but instead, I opened the door. He was sitting at the desk drunk with a bottle in his hand. He looked at me with this rage in his eyes. He asked me why I was there and I told him. That's when he took a swig from his bottle and went off on me. I did everything I could think of to reassure and calm him down but I was a kid. And it didn't work anyway.” 

Marquise stopped and Shanelle wrapped her arms around him.

“He grabbed me by my collar and kept screaming for me to stop haunting him. That I should've died the day she did so he wouldn't be cursed to know she was never coming back. That's when he let me go and he backhanded me.”

Shanelle shuddered.

“George must've heard me fall because he came running in and when he saw me on the floor he asked what had happened. And in classic Constantine Rys form…” Marquise trailed off.

That's when he contorted his face into a scowl that mirrored Connie’s sneer.

“Calm down George! Everything is fine. This clumsy idiot tripped over his own feet. Isn't that right boy?”

Their bedroom was quiet for a few seconds before he continued. 

“George helped me up and walked me out of his office. And when we were far enough away, he asked me what really happened and I told him everything. That's when he brought me to mom and told her. And I begged them both not to say anything. Because at that time I was terrified he would retaliate. Either against me or worse them. So they agreed to keep quiet. She got me cleaned up and something to eat and then put me to bed.”

Shanelle’s heart broke for her husband and her blood boiled.

“I'm so sorry baby.”

Marquise shook his head.

“Don't be. Because I got my revenge in the end. I got his throne and his kingdom. I got to watch the devil incarnate die a slow, painful, and well-deserved death. And if that's who Myah wants to call her father, she can fucking have him.”

“Marquise you are a victim. He abused you.”

“I refuse to be one. I refuse to let him believe he could ever break me twice.”

Shanelle kissed his cheek just before he kissed the palm of her right hand.

“I need you to swear to me that you won't say anything about this. I'm not saying that I don't trust the girls but it's bad enough that they know. So you have to swear not to say anything to anyone else. Not even to Khari.”

“Marquise—” she started to say something before he cut her off, “swear to it Shanelle!”

Shanelle closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. 

“I swear to you that I won't say anything to anyone else.”

Marquise let out a breath.

“Thank you, my love. Now let's get some sleep. It's been a long day.”

Shanelle nodded before they laid back down with him holding her close with his left resting on her stomach. 

The next week it was business as usual for His Majesty. There was a kingdom to be run. He spent the week in and out of meetings with advisors and foreign dignitaries. And he got the news he’d been waiting on. Monterisso finally agreed to be acquired by Cordonia. Which was a major win for him. He could leverage Monterisso’s spy tech with his kingdom’s special ops corp. 

He couldn't wait to tell Shanelle the great news over lunch.

“Well done Your Majesty! This is quite an accomplishment for you and our kingdom.” Shanelle said to him.

“Thank you, my Queen. It took me negotiating tooth and nail but we are now a truly fortified kingdom.” 

“I'm proud of you. You didn't let the last few Monterissan holdouts deter you.”

“Thank you, beautiful.”

“So what happens now?” she asked.

“I have a trip to Monterisso in the coming weeks to tour the kingdom and take stock of everything,” he replies.

“You mean you plan to play with all the drone tech?” she asked.

“Stop raining on my parade!” he replies.

Shanelle snickered. Just then there was a knock at the door.

“Come in!” Marquise called out.

An attendant came in with a Manila envelope in their hands.

“Pardon the interruption Your Majesties, but I was told to deliver this to you, my King.” the attendant said.

Marquise nodded. 

“Set it down. Thank you.”

The attendant nodded before setting the envelope down and leaving the room.

“What's that?” Shanelle asked.

“I don’t know. Let's find out shall we?” Marquise replied before grabbing one of his letter openers.

He broke the seal and then pulled the documents out. After a quick scan, his features darkened. 

“What? What is it?” Shanelle asked. 

“This is the autopsy report I had done on Tariq’s body,” he replies.

Shanelle’s eyebrows shot up.

“What does it say?” she asked.

“Exactly what I feared. Tariq didn't die of acute organ failure. He was poisoned.” he replies.

“WHAT?!” Shanelle exclaimed.

“Naya killed her husband.” 

Shanelle’s jaw dropped. 

“So what happens now?” she asked.

Instead of responding, Marquise dialed a number on his office phone.

“My King?” a voice answers.

“Issue an arrest warrant for one Princess Naya Laurent of Duchy Arnaud,” Marquise replied.

“The charge?” the voice asked.

“Murder,” Marquise replied.

“At once Your Majesty.” 

The call ended. This was it. Marquise was about to issue his first-ever death warrant as King. Whether he wanted to or not was a different story. 

[1ddiscourseoftheday]

Fri 28 May ‘21

Zayn’s rap EP??? Dropped yesterday???!? “Breaking my silence” says Zayn on Yellow Metal- Cathartic (Zayn is Yellow Metal here) and he DOES in 24 minutes of political, personal, complex and lyrically dense rap zoems! It was leaked/dropped whatever you wanna call it by being posted to Z’s cousin’s account (like the cover the other day); but clearly Zayn is behind these drops and that’s what matters, he is releasing this stuff in a way that will get to the fans but not inspire the media uproar (or contract issues) that posting to his own accounts would. As he says “don’t say I can’t communicate, you know I conversate with you in several different ways”, plus “I’ve had enough of being my own enemy, come a long way since 17, I have a few things to say when I get up on a microphone, I didn’t give up on fame I need this time like therapy it’s just to keep me sane… and to be honest it’s offensive, offensive to my still open wounds, trying to ask me questions they know they don’t have I ever replied, I prefer to sit down be online and respond to fanart,” I LOVE THAT. And the political content?! “What a family needs, and the planet bleeds, the damaged trees, it's never leaving to a real sense so FUCK THE FEDS” (or fuck the fence, not clear, either way, YES ZAYN!), “the snake that’s called Biden, none of them abiding by what they put in writing we should be used to it by now say whatever for the vote and then just chose another route say they’ll never kill another unless that brother’s skin is brown” and “been facing the racists back when I was a kid...kicked me out of the schools, they had a problem with me and the kids that would call me paki still sit in the classroom chilling, and now that I’m older I see they treat us different, got me thinking I was the problem cuz they never dealt with those issues, 20 years later I’m still in the same boat, tryna treat me like my grandpa, say I came up off the boat, came to tell you what I stand for, man I think this shit’s a joke. How can I be civil, when they got me by the throat, ‘Boy your skin is so light’, ok motherfucker take my name up on a flight, try to convince immigration that your bloodline’s half white, my name ain’t on the list unless they label it ethnic.” HELL YEAH ZAYN. PLUS: “never lose me to fentanyl, scared when I take a benadryl,” not gonna lie I LOVE to see this GOOD good good, "just became a dad so now I’m taking all the checks" HA yes get it, "trying to be a better person than the world deserves to see," and, “with a cigarette, sun coming up, write my thoughts on the internet, feeling deep, I'm just bored with the silhouette, get fucked up for the thrill of it,” “I’m just here for the rap then I’m leaving.” AND SO MUCH MORE all in Zayn’s excellent voice and accent, a GIFT that’ll take much more than a day to really unpack and appreciate!

And happy 28th, Louis is writing music! Looks like he is working with producer team Rick Parkhouse and George Tizzard in London (they call themselves Red Triangle Productions and put out music as SuperHi)- they posted a studio picture and tagged Louis. He’s just visible in the booth, singing. Also present- writer/ musician, Paul Whalley and songwriter Robert Harvey (The Music, The Streets) who were both posted and tagged Louis in as well. Louis followed Harvey. Hell yeah, what a line up! Not only that, Jamie Hartman answered a ProjectKMM participant’s question about other songs with Louis-- are they still working on new stuff? He says “I’m sure Louis has been working on new songs with lots of people!” [as we see, yes] “But yes we have done some too- who knows what will make the next album but he’s a top man and I would always write and hang w LT.”

Harry won Best Lyrics for Adore You at the iHeart Awards and Best Cover Song for Juice but failed to take the Artist of the Year or Song of the Year Categories, but more exciting than that- he’s listed as the Director of a new cosmetics and perfume company!!! People have been speculated about him doing something with Gucci Beauty for a long time now (he’s been noted to use their cosmetics, and definitely models their nail polish), and he has of course done perfume ads for them- there’s speculation that this could be for something with them, or it could just be a new thing of his very own. Well the Harry Styles palette would be a damn hit and we all know it, bring it on!

Anne Marie’s Big Weekend performance aired today and yes! She did Our Song with Niall! It’s the performance they recorded last week or so that we saw the pics from, yay first time getting to see them play it, but it was very quickly followed by the next time as their Jonathan Ross show performance also aired! And in case you’re sad about Niall’s previous promo buddies being replaced, there’s no need for that, he’s only adding to the pack; he tweeted Julia Michaels just today, “love ya hules” AWWW. He posted a bunch of cute OS video bts pics too, followed Oprah Winfrey and said he’d like to go to space and that he “would have liked to have been” a godfather to a 1D boy’s baby but “maybe the next one.”

Meanwhile Liam is looking at the fanart submissions he asked for- he retweeted a terrific drawing of himself laughing and said “this is amazing!” and liked a couple of other art posts. Feels like it’s about time for a monthly Liam catch up video, perhaps? Something else to look forward to!

[martinesabroad]

[Photos from Cassis, France, where we ended up on our day trip yesterday]

As Ryman mentions in his post below, we had some good tests on resilience yesterday. We had a day trip planned but had to change plans on the fly: we were in an Uber to the train station where we had reserved a rental car. Driver mentioned that the lake is low now, so upon research we discovered that the lake was indeed closed for swimming. Turns out the rental car place where we had booked the car ended up being closed any how (holiday), so we got a train to the beach, which was great, but then we missed our train back. The first bus was full, then another never came in time, there were no Uber drivers in the area, so had to walk a while in the heat to the train station not knowing exactly how we'd be able to get back, as it was a holiday so the train stations themselves were closed.

And we were in the Marseille train station when someone lit some fireworks inside causing a brief period of people panicking and running for the door! Luckily Ryman and I (Dad) were on the other side of the station grabbing a snack -- Ry would definitely not have liked seeing that. But Mom and Miles were there. Luckily everything turned out fine. 

While there were some stressful times yesterday, we always knew we were safe, and these types of experiences are exactly whey we brought the boys on this adventure - so they can get exposed to all types of people and places, and gain confidence that they can overcome anything.

On the train back, Ryman and Miles went to a separate car to sit. Ry told us afterwards all about a conversation he had with a 30-something Brit who inquired about the Paris St-Germain hat Ry had on, and they continued to talk about where their each from and what they're doing here. Love it.

This morning the boys asked if they could walk around the town (Aix) on their own. They know their way around fairly well now, but it's still not hard to get lost in all these windy narrow streets. So they took one phone and we kept the other, and they communicated and send pics along their journey. They adventured for about an hour, and went pretty far, and seemed to have a great time. Yay for some independence!

[penaltbox]

they did well!! onto the semis ☺️ it is so bittersweet. i havent totally confronted those feelings yet lol. but your boy sounds so cute 🥺 any details you can spare on what he looks like? i totally get if you want to keep those private too though lol. im just being nosy. he better be nice to you!!! its what you deserve. good good and no need to rush things go your own pace 🥰 Hahaha thats amazing j omg. fingers are crossed for you!!

but ok so our night out. lol he did like the dress. the dress is a little bit…different to what i usually wear. but the girls hyped me up so i was feeling myself. we met up with the guys and ry saw me before T and he just raised his eyebrows and did a low whistle and then spun T around to face me. T gave me a once over. and then did that two more times. he didnt even say anything just pulled me in and kissed me 🙈 and the girls were all giggling about it. but then some of the guys told me i looked good and T was like “you look amazing” and he just refused to let go of me. when i called him out for it he leaned down and whispered “because every guy here has looked at you and im not letting them even think they stand a chance” 🙈🙈🙈 we had a good time! T left my side once to go get me another drink and his teammates took that time to tease me about how i was driving T crazy 🙈 and when T came back they teased him too and he just shrugged and said “i know. my girl is hot” which made me blush and turn to hide in his shoulder lol. rest of the night was fun too. we went to another place where we could dance. the guys were not excited about that one but the girls dragged them all there. idk if T um standing behind me with his hands on my hips for some of that really counts as dancing 🙈 but it was how i convinced him to leave the boys and dance with me lol 🙈🙈 when i got tired i went over to where they had snagged a table and T let me sit in his lap. and at one point he moved a piece of my hair behind my ear my heart melted and smiled at me and i asked “what” and he said “just admiring” 🥺🥺 i gave him a peck for that one lol. and pretty soon after that i was tired and ready to go home so ofc T went with me. we got teased for leaving ofc. ry told T to remember common spaces are off limits so he needs to make it past the front door 🙈 i need to get him back for that one somehow. and then there was some fun (👀) before we actually went to bed lol. i am very tired today though lol

Oh yay!! Good luck to them! That’s so exciting. You can know about him ☺️ he’s got lighter brown hair I’d call it and he keeps a bit of facial hair but not too much really. I’d compare it to like Brendan’s in my pfp honestly. Maybe a tiny bit more. He’s like 6ft which is great because I’m only 5’1 lol. Not a tiny guy, he’s like 100lbs more than me which again, love that because I always feel small with him 🙈 he’s got the cutest little smile but he’s so shy that he always tries to hide it. Idk yeah I like him so we’ll see how it goes 🙈🙈

You deserved to be hyped up in that dress omg!! I bet you looked absolutely gorgeous! I’m glad you made the boys dance, in whatever capacity that was haha. Just admiring?? Gonna go nap in traffic now 🥹🥹 that’s so damn cute. Ryan is always there with a subtle reminder huh 😂 I still love that boy. Oh and some fun huh 👀👀 now it’s my turn to remind you two to be safe!! That sounds like it was all a blast though. Enjoy your time you guys have left!!

[jinv]

♧ HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I AM HERE BESTIE

omgggggg hi bestie yay ur here ur always here for me i appreciate u and i don't deserve u

you’re my: vmon loving bestie fellow cyan slut enthusiast big brained oliver oakin stan how i met you: i'm pretty sure u just came screaming to be about something or just appeared in my ask box one day and i was like wow ur a gem must follow throwback to the days when u called me op asdjfkalsdjfl;ksadf (or it was the cyan url and i was sold) why i follow you: where do i even begin ummm is it the stunning gifs the relatable text posts or just you in general as a person because of who u are yeah all of the above ur so cool and i'm ur biggest fan (u already know) and i have ur notifications on your blog is: a piece of art that deserves to be put into every museum the lourve the met every other museum in the world just front and center like ur blog is the go to must see main event your url is: i looked at this url and i was like uhhhhh i don't get it but i support u ajsdkflajsdklfajskldf but lifegoesmon iconic amazing never been done before how u got that url 0.0000238 seconds after he said it wow u never fail to amaze me your icon is: yer a wizard har ry ummm amazing i love them and i love them for u a random fact i know about you: u just finished ur dissection and im very proud of u general opinion: ur so big brained like i just know ur gonna do big things in life and i support u always a random thought i have: i need a tag for u on here thanks bestie how to rock how to dance how to get down all i need is a piano in my track now