#Tw: adultery

[atthefishhouses]

Freier Fall (2013) in der ARD Mediathek

Warum man den Film (nochmal) anschauen sollte?

... weil er einfach tolle Bilder bietet.

... weil die Schauspieler*innen richtig gut sind.

... weil es so ein typischer deutscher Problemfilm (tm) ist, wie es sie nicht mehr so oft gibt. Taschentücher nicht vergessen!

... weil es imho einer der besten deutschen Filme der 2010s über queere Lebensentwürfe ist.

... und weil er ein bisschen Spatort-AU-coded ist. 😉

[ninjastormhawkkat]

The Fall of Fair City - Chapter 23

Everyone in the courtroom gasped with shock. "Wait what?" The Butcher and Mrs. Botsford said simultaneously in utter surprise. "Y..yes. Well I looked over the evidence again and there are a lot of..inconsistencies, uh..contaminated evidence, problems with witness statements." Judge Homesfield justified, all the while twiddling his thumbs under his desk. He then looked more composed. "The point is I looked over the evidence and it appears The Butcher should be let go. I'm sorry for wasting the jurors and everyone else's time with this trial. Butcher you may leave." Judge Randall Homesfield banged his gavel which made his proclamation final for those in attendance. The Butcher just blinked in surprise at the judge. "So your letting me go now, no charges." The Butcher stated. Judge Homesfield nodded. "That's correct. You may leave." "WOOHOO!" The Butcher exclaimed in excitement as he stood and pumped his fists into the air. "Thanks judge. I'm free! See you around Mrs. Botsford. I'm a free man!" The Butcher cheered as he elatedly walked out of the courtroom and into the city streets. He didn't take noticed of the shocked looks everyone was giving him. The Butcher was happy for this stroke of luck and was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He didn't fully understand that phrase but knew it meant if something good happens to you, just embrace it. Back in the courtroom, Sally Botsford finally snapped out of her stunned shock. She turned to Judge Homesfield with a look of confusion and outrage. "What in the world was all of that about Judge Randall Homesfield? All of the evidence that was collected at the bank clearly proves The Butcher was responsible for the bank heist a few days back. The evidence was strong and flawless, this should have been and open and shut case that would punish The Butcher for his crimes." Randall ignored Sally's statement indiscreetly picked up the vanilla envelope and stuffed it's contents back inside. He then got up from his chair. "I'm sorry Mrs. Botsford but you were given flawed evidence. The Butcher is freed from his alleged criminal actions at the bank. That is my final say so please drop this topic. Now if you excuse me, I plan to return to my chambers to catch up on other important matters in privacy. Good day." Judge Homesfield exclaimed in a commanding tone before turning his back to the stunned and appalled district attorney. "Wait Judge Homesfield!" Mrs. Botsford called out, but the judge had quickly retreated to the direction of his chambers before she could stop him. Judge Randall Homesfield raced quickly but with composure back to his private chambers passed his secretary Elena who had worked for him for more than 20 years. He hastily opened and entered the room before shutting the door behind him with a quiet thud. Homesfield's panicked and horrified expression returned as he pulled out the contents of the envelope once more. He shakily placed them on his desk. He stared in silence at photos of him and Elena together at what he thought were discreet and private locations where no reporter could get too. There were photos of him and Elena together having a candlelight dinner. One was where he and Elena stayed in a singular room he booked at private hotel. Another was of him kissing Elena in his own private chambers! 'How could someone get all of these photos in just a few days?' Homesfield couldn't help but wonder. His eyes then landed back onto the letter that was attached to the photos. The letter that may have costed him the biggest blunder in his career as a judge. "If you don't want your family and Fair City to see what you and your secretary do after hours, pardon The Butcher from his crime. Make up an excuse to let him go. - PT" @melodythebunny @dualnaturedscientist

[general-kalani]

Fucked up idea I have to drop before I go to sleep, but what if Joseph was actually the child of an affair and that's why he's the only one with abilities.

Which would ALSO be a whole mf thing because his mother clearly died, for one reason or another, and he's the only one with these abilities.

I really do love fucking things up for him huh-

[damagedward]

♚ Backstory will be posted below

♚ Will be updated / added to frequently but sporadic

♚ Dark Mature & Triggering Themes Present

*** ⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️ ***

*** ⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️ ***

The following triggers are present in what you are about to read :

tw:abuse , tw:physical abuse , tw:mental abuse , tw:adultery , tw:affair , tw:non consensual sexual relationship, tw:non consent , tw:rape , tw:arranged marriage , tw:imprisonment , tw:animal abuse , tw:magical creature abuse , tw:mention of death , tw:background character death , tw:abusive father , tw:abusive parent

She was born just a month after spring came , and she was his pride and joy — that was at first . Before she was born at least , or one could say even when she was but that lasted all of five minutes and then the announcement of the Queen’s having bled out reached the King’s ears .

The baby girl was no longer a cause for celebration , no now she was a reminder of his wife , now she was the reason his Queen was dead .

And so his hatred for his own flesh and blood began before the child even opened her emerald orbs to see the world .

By her fifth year the nightmares had begun to plague her , the fires without explanation , the explosions of vases around the castle always seeming to coincide with when the young princess grew angry .

Magic .

Uther knew what it was .

And now that the Queen was dead it was easier to blame her for the curse , to blame her for the magic that infected his child . The entire time never offering Morgana any explanation for what was happening to her , instead yelling , hitting , hurting her for the things she couldn’t control but he told her she could .

He took a mistress by the time she was seven and on her birthday the following year they announced she would have a baby brother — or so they hoped sometime the following summer .

Their hope paid off . And when little Arthur came to survive his second year , as she came to be ten she was sent away , beating her senseless was no longer enough to keep her magic at bay nor her tongue as she had developed a smart mouth by now too . Uther had decided so he sent her elsewhere to let someone else handle the problem , a nunnery , one that didn’t shy away from harsh punishment and heavy hand .

In the meantime he focused on his bastard son , working to legitimize him and in making his mistress into a Queen .

When she returned home on her 18th birthday her father greeted her with a suitor , a husband to be , explaining to her that she needed to produce an heir if she hoped to carry on any form of title and inherit anything from him .

She lost it . Her magic flared as her emotions did , she destroyed half of the forest and took down a turret that was luckily no longer in use at the far end of the outer wall . She ended up in chains that night , in a tower guarded by some of her fathers own personal guard , and in the morning both her father and her betrothed had visited to assure her she would be married by weeks end .

She was forced down the aisle and sure enough into bed . Luckily for her one of her ladies had slipped her a dagger which she had placed into her garter when she had a moment during dressing prior to her walk . He met his end before he could touch her , she had stabbed him in the back and then just kept going once she’d rolled them afterwards to be sure .

Afterwards she had fled into the woods , in just her bloody torn nightclothes , she looked a mess . Her freedom didn’t last long before she was chased down and caught by her fathers men .

They were cruel when they caught up to her in words and action — they took what her dead husband had failed to , her dagger not there to help her this time , and she outnumbered .

She spent the next two weeks in chains that kept her magic at bay in that same tower she spent time in before her dreaded wedding night . She received constant visits from her father in which he would tell her each and every way she had disappointed him .

Then —

The day he released her . He disowned her . Disinherited her and tossed her out of the kingdom . To fend for herself .

Her magic was known , magic was envied still by some , hated by many , and others just wished to hold something with it . Her power was known , to have someone with power on your side was always a plus and she was still young . Her beauty was known and men liked pretty things , and she knew and learned the hard way already what they did when they found and wanted them even if it wasn’t returned . And then even if Uther had thrown her out and aside her kin was known and that could make her valuable in coin .

She was on the run and never staying anywhere long for the first year . She heard too many whispers of the runaway princess disinherited but missed . She found it hard to believe that Uther actually wanted her back .

The second she found a tower to stay in . It was somewhat funny to her at first to think she spent so long trying to get out of a tower only to seek comfort and find a home in one now . She found her little dragon there , her one and only friend , her Aithusa . The one light in her life . The two had nearly a year together alone , just the two of them , learning one another . Bonding . Magic and flying lessons . It was a glimpse at what life could be , what it should be . Magic and dragons free to live . To exist . To be . It should’ve lasted forever .

But after a terrible storm that forced them out of the tower she was caught by Sarrum and his men . And her hell began anew — or rather her true hell began because she had thought Uther bad but Sarrum became her number one enemy .

The man had been at odds with her father and tried to use her to demand a ransom of sorts when that hadn’t worked he had begun to try and extract information from her about Camelot .

The man threatened her dragon and she wouldn’t let him do that . She gave the information of the kingdom that betrayed her and disowned her . She thought that was all he wanted for the safety and protection of her precious dragon but she was naive in that .

He was just another cruel man , like her dead husband , like her fathers men , he would be another to want more , to take what wasn’t his to . Only this time she would break in the end and let him because she couldn’t let him hurt Aithusa . The poor dragon was already hurting enough being unable to fly around daily anymore .

One night , emerald orbs flew open , she peered over at the little white dragon , she had enough , she decided she would get them out of this . And so when he had been dragging her off to his chambers she had just grabbed for a dagger from his belt , slashed for any part of him she could reach and ran once he collapsed and stopped moving .

She and Aithusa had been lost for nearly two days after their escape as she had teleported them in a panic to simply get away , not having had any destination in mind , so it had been disorienting .

They realized they weren’t too far from Camelot and they became their destination .

When she returned to Camelot she found herself instantly greeted with chains , she found herself pleading her case with her bastard brother of all people , the one she blamed for everything in her life up until now besides her father .

It somehow worked , but when she then tried to bring a blade to Uther’s throat that night she was the cause of the sounding of the warning bells and had to escape into the night .

It wouldn’t take long before she succeeded in taking her fathers though and then she would return to Camelot to fight her brother for her throne . One day maybe she would succeed in taking her rightful place on the throne .

Authors Note :

this puts Morgana to be a late 22

at the end of this

[stardomiscalling]

Do you ever think cheating is considered excusable?

No. As a person who made the egregious error of cheating on a loved one (out of spite), I can wholeheartedly say that the act of breaking someone’s trust (and heart) is utterly inexcusable.

[lizzybeth1986]

@noesapphic A thing I really love about all your side stories is how it explores just about every woman of that time and their motivations, and how their background informed their choices. This one is no different - Roselyn's father's death and family's dire situation really did inform her way of thinking and make her value security and money over a relationship she actually did seem to like, if not love. And it is truly ironic that it is THAT relationship - with Ernest - that teaches her what true security is, because when everyone has shamed and abandoned her, it is the husband she's hurt that stands by her. (And I love the full-circle moment of Marianna being the one to briefly care for her and convince her to talk to Ernest, and at this moment she likely hasn't even met him yet).

Also really loved how you incorporated both Marianna and Joanna (through the mystical dreams) into Roselyn's story so subtly. Great fic!!

The Other Woman

Author’s Notes 

Aaaand we’re back on TCH stuff!! This story is not my favourite, but it’s been fun to explore. As I said in the fic, I am not justifying Roselyn’s behaviour, but rather looking for a reason on why she acted like that and understand her point of view as a writer. Make it make sense, unlike PB here. 

English is not my first language, so please forgive any typos/grammar mistake I might’ve made. 

If you want to read the whole story, here’s the link! 

I will be publishing stories like these of other characters this week, like Miss Sutton or Edmund, so stay tuned for more! 

Summary: Roselyn tells us her side of the story 

Word Count: 2.9k 

Category: Angst 

Pairing: Roselyn Sinclaire, Ernest Sinclaire, Duke Richards 

Rating: PG-13 

Warnings: Death, grief, adultery, strong language and major death character 

Book: Desire and Decorum 

1796, Paris, France

The young Roselyn D’Ouleur played with her doll, watching as her mother sighed, looking at the family’s books. It was late at night, and the French Revolution was at its peak. What was worse, the prosecution towards nobles was worse than ever and Madame Guillotine was stronger than ever. Though, young Roselyn was suspicious, but her brother Renard was getting even more suspicious.

Suddenly, their father, Henri, came into the house, panting “Quick, we need to pick out the essentials and get into a boat now!”

Pierre, who was eleven, frowned “But Papa, we thought we wouldn’t go until next week!”

“Someone snitched on us and the revolutionaries are on their way here! Odette, quick, pack Rosie’s things and get her dressed, we don’t have much time!”

Keep reading

[raine-hearts-art]

@qin-su-week Day 6: Jinlintai & Hurt/Comfort

Wherein the widowed Jiang Yanli tends to the needs of her neglected sister-in-law.

[itsdefinitely]

caught.

[snowalwayslandsontop]

Coriolanus had wanted nothing more than to leave the wedding reception as soon as he noticed that Sejanus had slipped out early. He couldn't blame him for not wanting to witness this farce any longer, especially now that Livia knew of the reality of their relationship. She was all too smug about it, hiding it from their guests but he knew she was going to try and cause trouble for him, for them. She would be in for a very rude awakening before too long but Coriolanus knew he had to smile and wave and keep up the pretence of being so completely besotted by his new bride. So he had spent the remainder of the evening speaking with their guests, dancing with Livia and celebrating before finally they could leave the reception to begin their honeymoon. Livia had lost her temper when he had told her that she would spending the evening alone. "Excuse me?" Livia asked Coriolanus in the backseat of the car when he told their driver to drop Mrs. Snow at her apartment and that he would be carrying on to the Penthouse. "You didn't think I wouldn't go and see Sejanus, did you?" Coriolanus' tone was cold as he glanced across at her. "He left the reception after your little performance and besides, I would rather spend this evening in his company than yours." "I am your wife, Coriolanus Snow!" Livia snapped at him. "This is our wedding night." "You make the grave mistake of thinking I care. You and I never pretended that we married one another for love. We both have something to gain from this marriage and you do not require my physical presence for that. You married me so you can eventually become First Lady and I will give you that in time." Coriolanus viewed her as a simple tool. He needed a pretty wife to help him get elected when the time came for him to run for the Presidency. "And if I cause you and your boyfriend trouble?" Livia snarled back at him, shaking in rage. Coriolanus fell still for a moment at her words. He was in no mood for her tantrums. It had been a long day and all he wanted to do was go home and see Sejanus. But he would not allow her threat to go unanswered. "You still throw tantrums as if you are still a child on the school playground Livia and I won't tolerate them. You will not cause trouble for Sejanus and I because if you do, I will divorce you in the most public way possible. I will embarrass you and leave you in disgrace. No one will ever marry you again and you will never be First Lady." It was a weak threat and he had far worse ones on the tip of his tongue but he held back for tonight. "You're going to smile and wave as I require and do as I tell you. You are a tool Livia and you'll do well to remember that."

The rest of the car ride was silent and soon Livia had been dropped off at their new apartment and he was on the way to the Penthouse. He bit his lower lip, worried about Sejanus. He had text him already, to assure him that he was on the way. He knew he would be waiting for him at the Penthouse, their home. It should have been Sejanus that he had married today. Marrying Livia had been a necessity but the entire day had felt wrong. It should have been Sejanus standing at the alter beside him. They should have been having their first dance, greeting their guests together and driving off for the honeymoon they deserved. Coriolanus knew he had made the choice to marry Livia instead and for a moment, he cursed himself. But this was necessary. He knew he needed to show the people of the Capitol what they wanted to see. He had been gaining popularity lately, especially since he had become Head Game Maker. The time was drawing closer, when Ravinstill would resign or die and there had to be someone ready to take his place. He knew others would run against him but no one else had a hope. However he needed a few little boosts in popularity and he knew some in the Capitol thought he was too harsh and cold. He needed to give them the image of a 'family man'. A pretty Capitol wife and perhaps a child or two, to soften his image. Some in the Capitol would not want to see a 'single' man take the Presidency and so this was all a strategic move. It would ensure he would become President. It would ensure he could keep himself and Sejanus safe because right now, there were threats always looming far too close for comfort. Finally, he was letting himself into the Penthouse and closing the door behind him. "Sejanus." he called out into the quite apartment. He knew he would only be in the living room or the kitchen and within moments he found him sitting at the small table in the kitchen, holding a teacup. "I'm sorry, I got here as quickly as I could." Coriolanus moved across the room before leaning down and gathering him in his arms as best as he could at this angle. "Are you alright? Of course, you're not alright." It was a stupid question to even ask. Would he have been alright, if he had just watched Sejanus marry someone else? He knew he would have killed whoever had dared to touch Sejanus. "Livia told me she knows, about us. I don't care that she knows and I've told her so. This changes nothing. I love you and I always have."

Coriolanus had returned to the reception, mildly irritated that Livia was no where to be found. She should have been here waiting for him. Perhaps she had gone to fix her hair or make up. Either way, he wouldn't waste time searching for her. He would continue to work the room, knowing every single conversation he had and every relationship formed was another vote when the time was right. He wouldn't waste a moment of tonight, when he had a captive audience in good spirits on such an occasion. If only he had been marrying Sejanus, tonight could have been perfect.

Livia finally returned, looking slightly flushed but he paid little attention as she kissed his cheek and asked him to come and dance with her. He could't deny her. It was expected after all, this was their wedding day. Certainly the display would give their guests enough sentimental feelings, it might earn him some support. He took her hand, leading her over to the dance floor as he wondered where Sejanus was. He hadn't seen him come in and he couldn't look for him now when all eyes were on them and he was only supposed to have eyes for his pretty Capitol bride.

The band switched to a slow song as they noticed the bride and groom had taken to the dance floor. Coriolanus was vaguely aware of the soft gazes they were receiving from their guests. Perfect. At least this wasn't a completely wasted moment if it was getting them the attention they - he - needed. Livia pressed close to him and they moved around the dance floor in time with the music. They let the silence settle between them, a small fact that Coriolanus was relieved about. He noticed Sejanus had returned to his table and his heart ached for a moment for his beloved, having to witness this display of false adoration.

Livia looked up at him with a small smile suddenly and then leaned in and kissed him. He was surprised but he allowed it. They had an audience and he wouldn't make a scene. Besides, this was their wedding to he supposed it was appropriate. She pulled away after a few moments before she tilted her head to press her cheek against his. He assumed that would be the end of it but then she whispered in his ear.

"So, how long have you been fucking Sejanus Plinth?"

Coriolanus' stomach dropped at the question, his heart pounding. She knew. How? Had she seen them out in the courtyard or had something else happened? Was that where she had been? He hadn't anticipated that she would find out so soon, even though he and Sejanus had spoken about Livia eventually learning the truth about them.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Coriolanus continued to move her around the dance floor, desperately wanting to look for Sejanus but he couldn't. Not now, not yet.

"Don't play coy Coriolanus. It's not becoming. Sejanus told me all about just a few minutes ago. About you two living together in the Penthouse. No wonder you wouldn't let me even visit, let alone have me move in to your little love nest."

Sejanus never would have told her that, Coriolanus was certain. What had happened? Surely she hadn't just figured all of this out and at their wedding too? Had she had him followed? No, he was too careful. Had she seen them together out in the courtyard? She must have. They'd only been hugging but had someone been watching, it might not have been too hard to guess the real relationship between them. Was she bluffing about the Penthouse? Sejanus would never have divulged such secrets. He trusted him completely.

"Cat got your tongue?" Livia looked up at that, the barest hint of a smirk on her face. She knew better than to cause a scene, with all of Panems elite watching them. "Might make a nice change from having it down Sejanus' throat."

"No need to be crass Livia. That isn't becoming of a lady." Coriolanus leaned in and pressed a kiss against her cheek. "Neither is having a vivid imagination."

Livia was giving him a sickly sweet smile and Coriolanus knew she was about to stick in a metaphorical dagger. She leaned in closer, brushing a kiss against his cheek before she pressed her lips against his ear. To anyone watching, it would look like a sweet moment before newlyweds. In reality, she whispered.

"Neither is taking a phone call from your fiance about the flowers for your wedding when you're bed fucking your boyfriend. At the gym were you? Sejanus told me everything!"

Coriolanus felt his grip on her tighten at her words. She couldn't have guessed that. No one else could have told her that either. Sejanus must have told her. Why would he have told her such a thing? His stomach tightened, thinking back to that day.

Coriolanus groaned as he rode Sejanus' cock in their bed. He felt so good inside him, he always did. He felt so full, a perfect stretch. He glanced down at Sejanus, who was gazing up at him. It was all heated, heavy lidded and he was moaning too, reaching up to grab his hips to tug him back down to bottom out inside him

"Fuck Sej, so good. Fuck, you feel so good inside me baby. I...." His phone ringing shattered the moment and he glared at the inanimate object as though it had personally offended him. Who was possibly calling him right now? Who cared...Not when Sejanus was fucking him like this. Whoever it was could wait.

"Do you...if you have to..." Sejanus glanced at the phone in matching irritation at being interrupted.

"No..... for fucks sake." Coriolanus growled, angry at whoever the caller was and not at Sejanus. He reached over to the bedside table, wondering if he shouldn't just throw the damn thing against the wall. His eyes darkened in anger when he saw who the called was. "It's just bloody Livia." He threw the phone on the bed just as it stopped ringing. He breathed a sigh of relief for the silence before he started to move on his cock again with a groan. "Sej... Sej.... Fuck, I love your cock and I...."

The phone started to ring again and Coriolanus glared at it for the audacity of a second interruption. He was determined to ignore it but then Sejanus was grinning up at him wickedly.

"Answer it." Sejanus reached over to grab the phone and shoved it in Coriolanus' hands. He stared down at him, surprised but then he laughed softly, panting as he answered the phone. "What do you want Livia?"

The conversion had been boring, aggravating but watching the amusement and joy and arousal it had brought Sejanus was worth the interruption. He paused his own movements, trying to balance himself on Sejanus' lap with a phone in hand but then Sejanus was snapping his hips up, making a gasp falling from his lips. He couldn't help the glare he gave to Sejanus but then he was swallowing back a laugh at him and a hiss at Livia as he told her that he had just stubbed his toe on the treadmill because she was distracting him.

It hadn't been too long before he had hung up on her, snapping that she knew his family signature flower was roses so why was she even talking about orchids. She was wasting his time and with that he'd hung up on her. He'd thrown the phone aside before he looked down at Sejanus with a grin and a chuckle.

"You little minx!" he had leaned down and kissed him deeply then, hoping the little stunt had satisfied whatever Sejanus had felt the need for. "I almost think you want us to get caught."

Coriolanus came back to the present moment, his eyes now scanning the room for Sejanus. He saw him finally, still at the table. He could only make brief eye contact with him as he moved Livia around the dance floor. He needed to go to him, they needed to talk. He wanted to understand, wanting to know just what had happened. Was he alright? If Livia had upset him in any way, she would be incredibly displeased with the outcome.

[reylokisses]

I was thinking about what @iwannaplaybg3butimbroke @kityana and @timkontheunsure said about my Beatrice Horseman/Stella Goetia post, and on second thoughts, you’re right - Octavia definitely didn’t know about Stella’s abuse of Stolas.

In the brief glimpses we see of Stolas and Stella’s marriage before Stolas had an affair with Blitzø*, Octavia isn’t around when Stella is cruel to Stolas:

Stella probably didn’t want Octavia to know that she (Stella) was abusing Stolas, so that Octavia would think well of Stella and not turn against her.

Octavia’s line in Loo Loo Land points to this, as she says that, when she was a child, her parents “didn’t hate each other”.

Originally, I assumed that Octavia had to know about Stolas’ abuse, because otherwise the writers would be throwing her under the bus and blaming her for not sympathising with Stolas, but now I see that it’s the other way around.

Octavia remains sympathetic if she doesn’t know what Stolas has gone through. If she still blamed Stolas for breaking up the family even though Octavia knew how miserable Stolas was, that would make her selfish, but since Stolas and Stella have been keeping the abuse from her, then no one can blame her for that.

I’m defensive about Octavia, because I hate how some writers stereotype teenage girls and dismiss their pain and problems as trivial.

Divorce is traumatic, being a teenage girl is traumatic, and being emotionally neglected is traumatic as well.

The above scene is -so far- the saddest scene in all of Helluva Boss to me.

Stolas, Stella and Octavia are sitting down to eat together as a family, but they’re completely disengaged from each other.

Stolas is reading a book and ignoring Octavia, Octavia is listening to music, and Stella is ordering a hit on her own husband.

It’s interesting that neither Stella nor Stolas tell Octavia off for being rude and listening to music at the dinner table - either they’re so caught up in their own affairs that they haven’t even noticed, or they know how unhappy Octavia is with their family life, and they’re allowing Octavia her music as a coping mechanism.

I hope that Octavia and Stolas reconcile and are a happy family again eventually!

(*not that I blame him for it; he didn’t owe his abuser any loyalty, and Stolas wanted to divorce Stella right after his and Blitzø’s first encounter.)

[thatsprettylane]

Favorowdy + What Are We?

[tuttle-did-it]

Rewatching Pitfall (1948) (starring Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, Raymond Burr and Jane Wyatt). Found this delightful IMDb entry.

Well played, sir.

[writermuses]

There were a million reasons why the Crown Princess of Denmark should feel sick about her stomach about the trip across the Atlantic. Flying with her two young daughters was nerve wracking because small children on a plane, even if it was private, was a nightmare. Then there was the morning sickness, worse than both of her pregnancies with the girls, that had her ill all day. She'd known very early on she was pregnant, visiting a private doctor and confirming the pregnancy. Still, Aurélie had thought that maybe this one was her husband's given how quickly she started showing. Instead, it simply started earlier, the doctor telling her that her body simply 'knew what it was doing now, so it was like pitching a tent'... a concept she found horrifying. No more horrifying than the reality that the timing made this third child Ryker's. The media hadn't questioned that the children had blonde hair or bright blue eyes, chalking it up to Danish heritage and the continued secrecy around her mother, but she knew they were a spitting image of their true father.

For better or worse, Elie couldn't bring herself to stay away from the only man she'd ever loved. While going to see Ryker again was certainly dangerous in its own right because of the MC, she never worried the media would catch them. Her Head of Security, Sirius, made tedious arrangements for privacy and protection of the girls and New York had far more interesting people to snap pictures of and slather over gossip rags than the possible heir to the thrown of a tiny country an ocean away— or so she thought. Little did the princess know, the first snapshot was taken at the private airport as they moved from the jet to their armored SUV that would take them to the hotel, a breeze catching pressing her dress to her curves, making the bump hidden under her jacket a little more obvious for just a moment before she pulled it closed. It wasn't even a thought on her mind when they girls settled into their adjoining room after baths and pajamas with movies and a snack, yawns all around.

It wasn't all that late in New York, but jet lag was hitting the girls hard and it was well past their bedtime back in Denmark, so she'd texted Ryker the hotel and room number, sending Sirius off for the night. Neither of them speaking about who they both knew was the reason for this trip. When the familiar knocking pattern sounded on the door, Aurélie had washed off the travel, changed into a lace-trimmed silk slip underneath a robe, and moved around the living room sipping on ginger ale and humming to the quiet music she'd put on to calm her nerves. Pulling the door open, tugging the robe more tightly around herself, she rested her head against the door and drank him in. "You still came." Her smile quickly brightened and she moved back to allow him in, the door and robe still blocking the view of her stomach. When she closed the door, she didn't turn around immediately, locking up and then resting her forehead against the cool surface. "I'm sorry it took so long to come back."

closed starter for @thereapersmc

[thexandersonxbunch]

Continued from here x

Lo couldn’t help but laugh as well. Even in their drunken stupor, he could still recognize James’ innocence and naïveté. It was cute and endearing, something that distracted Lo from the reality of his life. For a moment, he forgot all about the possibility of Oliver being dead by the hand of Grindelwald and his fanatics. Right now, all he could think about was how soft James’ lips looked. He leaned in closer, noses barely brushing against each other, while their breathing became one. “Something like that…you’re so cute.”

@just-asimple-brunette

[heirbane]

Okay, as promised.

Gaius knew none of his adopted children as babies. The youngest of the brood, Allie, had long since learned to walk and was shyly trying out words when he arrived in Werlyt. By the time he decided to formally make them his, they were all of an age to enroll into some sort of schooling in Garlemald.

Cid was the first babe he truly knew, but was not one he felt like he had responsibility for. Midas and his wife, despite splitting early on in her pregnancy, found a way to co-parent. Gaius was newly an adult, and was encouraged to entertain Cid, but had never been forced to do more than feed or hold the boy. As Midas's side-piece - as he and his wife never formally divorced - Gaius knew he was getting in over his head, and allowed the man and his babe space.

Plus, a newly 20-something Gaius had no interest in becoming a pseudo father figure for him. Not yet.

Zenos may have followed too not long after, but he was not the first child that Varis and his beloved bore. As he had been deployed during most of her first pregnancy, Gaius returned to his best friend's side near the end, only to discover that Varis's daughter was born asleep.

Used to the blood and gore of war and oppression, Gaius was familiar with grief and loss. He was not, however, used to such things so close to him, and struggled to comfort Varis or his wife. He greedily accepted the next deployment and left the palace, hoping space would help them heal.

By the time he next arrived, she was with child again. When Zenos came to be, his birth carried forth more loss, and while Gaius did attempt this time to be around and support Varis, the young emperor was already gone. Zenos was handed off to a wet nurse and Varis closed himself off to the world.

All this word salad to say - Gaius stepped into a more fatherly role once Cid and Zenos became children, and were able to actually ask for things they needed - or find it themselves, if all else failed. He has been around newborns and small babes, but never in a capacity that required much actual parenting from him.

It's no surprise to me that a lot of his "parenting" relies on just... providing their basic needs and that's it. He has no idea how to truly nurture or provide beyond basics. He can hold a baby, but soothing them when they cried is not a task he's able to do without instruction.

[offthewall1979]

"I said 'but unlock the door, cuz I forgot the key.' She said 'it's not comin back, because you're sleepin with me!'"

WHAT???????????????