#and i'll send a birth announcement to my friends later

[whentherewerebicycles]

i have a very stupid problem that is causing me a very stupid amount of distress. my aunts are planning my baby shower which will be in my home city (a place where none of my friends live). we are inviting a bunch of family and tbh it's solely so i can get stuff from my registry. i feel okay about that part because i've bought gifts for all the extended family baby showers and weddings over the years and it seems fine to be like 'ok now it's my turn i really need the help.' the part that is making me feel weird is that my aunts feel strongly that i should ALSO send invites to all of my out of town friends, including college and grad school friends, because those people might send me gifts too. i think that a lot of my friends WILL end up buying something from my registry or sending something (a lot of them have asked already!) and that's very nice of them!!! and i do think i might want to send a birth announcement or something later just as a "hey! a big thing happened in my life!" kinda thing. but i feel super uncomfortable sending out invites to an event i know they can't attend (and would never expect them to fly to a random city for!!) because then it just feels obvious that i'm asking for a gift instead, and that makes me feel bad!!! but also idk my brother and SIL just had a MASSIVE shower where like 50+ of their friends came (because they went to college in our hometown and all their friends still live there) and my cousin just had a big shower too (she lives and works in our hometown) so i also just feel dumb for like. having a very small kinda lame shower where my extended family is gonna be like oh... does she not have any friends?

[thebluemallet]

EARLY Predictions for Bridgerton Season 4

BENEDICT IS OFFICIALLY CONFIRMED TO BE THE LEAD FOR SEASON 4!

I've had this in my drafts for a couple of weeks. But now that Benophie is officially happening next season, I have some EARLY predictions for the next season. I'll have more predictions when we finally have a clip or a trailer, but for now I'm gonna cast a wide net for what I think will happen in season 4.

1- MASQUERADE!

They really name-dropped that masquerade ball like Tahani Al-Jamil name drops her celebrity friends. And they mentioned it in the promo with Luke T. The masquerade ball is happening! My guess is it'll happen somewhere in the first two episodes of season 4. This will be where Benedict meets his Cinderella/mysterious Lady In Silver/Sophie Beckett.

The code name for season 4 is supposed to be Vauxhall, where we saw Daphne and Simon launch their fake dating plot in season 1. That was a public ball, which means that anybody who could pay the fee could get into it. Perhaps we'll return there for the masquerade ball. Makes much more sense for Sophie to be able to crash that instead of a private ball at the Bridgerton house.

Let's just hope her carriage doesn't turn into a pumpkin before she can make her escape.

2- A Possible Time Jump

In Benedict's book, he meets Sophie at the masquerade, she runs away at midnight, and then he doesn't see her again for another two years. I think a time jump could happen again. Specifically for a few of my upcoming predictions.

Also, it would add to the drama.

Can you imagine the reaction from the fans with the screen fades to black and then some text fades in that reads TWO YEARS LATER?

3- Kate and Anthony Might Not Make An Appearance Next Season

Possibly an unpopular opinion, but I almost dont know why they bothered with having Kate and Anthony in season 3. It seemed like it boiled down to "We're here! We're hot! We're horny! And we're fucking off now! Bye!"

At least when Daphne showed up in Anthony's season she helped drive the plot forward and tried to help guide her brother on the bumpy road to matrimony. Anthony had one half-assed conversation with Colin about his engagement to Penelope. Kate did most of the heavy-lifting when it came to important talks with the family. She did most of the talking to Colin the night before his wedding to Penelope. (Not that it mattered because all of her work was undone the moment Charlotte showed up to the wedding.)

Kate also gets credit for speaking with Eloise to try and smooth things over between her and Colin. And then they left their family for a third time to go all the way to India, a journey that's going to take them six months one way.

But with a time jump, that would give enough time for Anthony and Kate to go to India, have their baby, spend some time there, and then make the long journey back to be present after the time jump with a toddler.

(With how pregnant Kate was looking at the wedding, I would not be surprised if she gave birth at sea. She and Anthony did not think that plan through at all. And why the hell did they leave without attending Francesca's wedding??? And when the Queen was certain that a Bridgerton was behind Lady Whistledown???)

Anthony and Kate being absent would also be a convenient way to keep the Bridgerton House set around for a little while longer.

Anyway, sending Kate and Anthony off to India felt like a way to let Jonny and Simone do other projects for a season instead. Jonny himself is probably gonna be busy with all of the press for the upcoming Wicked movie. So if the announcement comes that they won't be around, I wouldn't be surprised.

4- Last Season for Queen Charlotte Queen Charlotte Lives Forever!

Bridgerton is not known for being 100% historically accurate. And let's face it, even if it were, people would still be complaining about the historical inconsistencies. But one thing Bridgerton is creeping up on is the year 1818. And it's in November of that year that the real-life Queen Charlotte passed away.

Season 4 will, I assume, start in 1816. If they do a one-year time jump, we'll get the rest of the season in 1817 when the main events of Benedict's book take place. If they do a two-year time jump, like they did in the books, then we'll be in 1818 and we'll be in the year we say goodbye to Queen Charlotte.

BUT, the showrunners have pretty much said that they've decided the show exists in an "alternate universe" and they're just going to keep Queen Charlotte around for a while.

The Queen lives. Long live the Queen.

5- Eloise Meets Sir Phillip Crane (?)

While the masquerade references were heavy-handed, the references to Philoise were more subtle. In episode 3x02, Eloise wears a dress that is patterned with the same flower that was gifted to her by Sir Phillip in the books. And in 3x05, when trying to make herself feel better about her betrothal, Cressida tells Eloise that the two of them can "flirt with widowers." The showrunners are slowly setting up the Eloise/Phillip dynamic--they have been since season 1. I think they'll set more things into motion in season 4 and set them up for season 5.

Eloise already expressed to Kate how she felt as if everyone was pairing off and leaving her behind. Benedict's marriage will end up being the tipping point for Eloise.

Phillip would have lived the life of a botanist/academic if it weren't for his brother's tragic passing. Perhaps his academic connections could play a part in Eloise's desire to meet new people and change the world?

If they meet in season 4, it could be the catalyst for them to begin to exchange letters like they did in the books. Which will ultimately set them up for their story in season 5.

Of course, this also means that Marina is going to have to die offscreen at some point 😐

6- Cressida Redemption (?)

One of my major gripes with season 3 was that they gave so much time to the threesome subplot that two other subplots seemed to have no real conclusion or were dropped completely. One of the subplots that didn't get wrapped up as nicely as it could have was Cressida's. We didn't see her reaction to Penelope unmasking herself as Lady Whistledown. She just kind of...left.

There is a long-standing fan theory that Cressida will have a part to play in the Benedict/Sophie story based on a piece of script that named Cressida's mother "Araminta". If this is true, then I think we'll see Cressida in some way next season. And maybe she'll get a happier ending. I never thought at the beginning of the show that I'd want Cressida to end up happy somewhere, but boy season 3 did a great job of making me actually sympathetic to her character.

7- Another Offscreen Wedding

One thing that I know frustrated Kathony fans last season was not seeing an onscreen wedding for Kate and Anthony. I mean, we saw a wedding, and Kate and Anthony were there, but he almost got married to the wrong person. The closest we got was Anthony disassociating so hard that he astral projected himself into an alternate reality.

The only onscreen weddings to canonical spouses we've seen have been the Daphne/Simon, Colin/Penelope, and Francesca/John weddings. But if anybody was hoping to see an onscreen wedding with Benedict in season 4, think again.

I believe that the drama of Benedict and Sophie's story will keep up through all eight episodes of their season. And, like Kate and Anthony's season, we'll flash forward in time at the end of the episode to Benedict and Sophie several months into their marriage. But we won't get to see the actual wedding.

8- Crossdressing Sophie (?)

Admittedly, this is less of a prediction and more wishful thinking on my part. This is the route I would go down if I was writing for the show, anyway.

Show!Benedict now being canonically pansexual has opened up the possibility for him to have an LGBTQ+ partner. But I have a slightly different idea. One plot point of Benedict's book is that Sophie, after running away from her stepmother's house, cuts off all of her hair to sell when she's desperate for money.

I think Show!Sophie could still get her hair cut off like in the book, and then go around disguised as a man for safety/freedom of movement/job opportunities. Then Benedict gets confused when he discovers Sophie in "boy mode" because he hasn't felt this level of attraction to someone since his Lady In Silver.

Maybe we'll get a Victor/Victoria scenario out of it (woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman).

Like I said, this is less of a prediction and more of the route I would go down if I was writing for the show. It probably won't happen this way. But maybe I'll give fanfic writers some plot bunnies.

[imaginationkonoha]

Neji Hyuuga - My favorite mouth.

~ Giphy isn't not mine~

I hope that all you enjoy!! Send your ideas!

All I cherished when I arrived from a mission was to take a good shower to remove all impurity and sleep like a rock. And I'd do that if it wasn't for Hinata pissing me off to a House Shower.

“I hate you for this you know?” I said laughing walking with her and Neji.

"Ah Y / N, you look like your mother" Neji said snapping with my face and I looked at him angrily. "Everyone is going" He continued smiling and for a moment I pictured him in the place. Okay. Maybe we should stop these thoughts.

"Ok! But I'm very sleepy!" I replied bitterly, entering the house accompanied by the two.

"It will be nice, come on, I'll take you to tea later" Neji replied and Hinata agreed. We went in and met with everyone, boys and girls parted for the sadness of my fertile imagination. Really, they were all here, Ino, Sakura, Tenten, Hinata and me. I sank into the water wanting to die there, on the other side we could hear the noise of the boys.

"You look like you died!" Said Ino looking at me. I agreed with her making a thumb down.

"I am, the enemy shielded me for a Tenten attack," I pointed at the girl who looked at me apologetically. "It's alright Tenten, accidents happen all the time."

"I know that," she replied. "Just that I overreacted in the attack and your body must be really sore, I don't know how you're standing."

"I think sometimes you forget who my mother is, I study some medical jutsu with her at home, we never know what might happen," I said shrugging, my mother was the master of Ino and Sakura, the fifth. Hokage. My fayher was Jiraya, you must finally think they got along but no, on a night of my mother's sadness for her beloved Dan, she and my father drank a lot and it resulted in my birth 9 months later. My father had died a few months ago, so I'm trying to get on with my life preparing for war.

I took a deep breath remembering what happened, Neji and Naruto helped me to the extreme, the first knew exactly how I felt to lose my father, had already gone through it. Already Naruto suffered along with me, how often I accompanied them to receive information or something greater, he was like a grandson to my father.

"It's because they float," I heard Hinata say and started laughing at Sakura's face.

"You're the biggest of us friend, maybe someday I'll pass you or maybe I'll pull daddy's family" I frowned making everyone laugh, before I could say anything we heard the noise of something breaking, we looked up seeing the ceiling give way. In a second I put on my shorts, covering myself with a towel since I couldn't find my shirt, looked at the floor and found Rock Lee, and at the door the boys looking at them very angry. Before I could do anything, Lee was running out of the house, I felt bad for him. Holding my breasts I reached for my shirt but didn't find it until Neji surrendered, I noticed his embarrassed look from under his scowl. He was too respectful to take the moment to take a look.

I scolded myself the minute I thought that, turned my back on, quickly putting on my shirt and running after Rock Lee. I saw Naruto get in front of him before anyone knocked and I did that too.

"Girls, pay attention! Lee would never do that!" I pointed to the boy who smiled at me, smiled back when I turned around and noticed that all the boys were looking straight at my breasts, which now due to wet body were hard, appearing lightly on the light colored blouse.

I took a deep breath and was not ashamed.

"Never seen breasts? If you want I show" I said called everyone's attention.

"It won't be necessary, I think we all learned," Naruto said, and turned to Lee, showing Sakura's bra clinging to his towel.

"Sakura is arrested" I spoke fast "He did not catch" I continued but it was too late, because the woman had already hit Naruto, before she punched another I held her hand, making her snort. Sakura walked away from the house, I rolled my eyes at the behavior and turned to the boys.

"Boys, the view is very nice but I think you want to keep a little of everything you're showing" I said bastard and they widened their eyes, touching the situation they were in the street. I joined in the laughter as the boys tried to get home as soon as possible, Hinata stared at me laughing at my scared face at Neji and Shikamaru's physique.

"I died and God took me to heaven" I said putting a hand on my forehead making a drama. "I'm impacted, I could kiss, literally," I said excitedly.

"Y / N!" - Tenten scolded laughing.

"What? You think, I say. I really could lose my mouth from kissing so much. I'm in love," I said entering the house, we returned to our ward to pick up the things we had forgotten.

"You say that but you know you have a favorite mouth," teased Tenten and I ignored it.

"True, it's no use lying" Hinata continued and I laughed

"My favorite mouth doesn't do that kind of thing, it's very focused," I commented faking crying, increasing the laughter.

"No, I also want to know who it is" complained Ino

“What do you mean you don't know?” Said Hinata, I looked at her showing tongue.

"You are great friends!" I mocked and they laughed.

"Okay, I'll tell you," Tenten announced. "She's falling for Neji's mouth, or all of him."

"Tenten!" - I fought with her "I hate you" I complained and the three laughed.

"How didn't I realize before? It's so obvious," said Ino, patting her forehead.

"Unfortunately he doesn't want me!" He said pouting. "And for the record, my crush on Neji doesn't even compare to Hinata's cliff on Naruto," I blurted out seeing my friend turning red. I hugged her laughing, she laughed punching me in the arm. After gathering our things, we left the ward and went to meet Neji. The moment I laid eyes on them, the image of just a towel covering his body came to my mind and I wanted to die right there. I had no doubt that I was my father's daughter.

“Tea?” He asked and I nodded.

"I'm leaving you, I'm really tired," Hinata said making me give her a macabre look that chuckled and walked in the opposite direction, not even giving Neji the opportunity to offer to take her.

"Got a problem with that?" He asked me

"No, no, it wouldn't be the first time we had tea without Hinata's anyway" I answered but inside I was yelling hard, I could see every muscle in Neji's body in my head and I was almost asking to leave. We arrived at the tea house quickly and he placed our orders, he was always the one to ask because my taste came down to two flavors.

"Today was quite a scare" commented Neji and I agreed

"Really, when I walked into the house, I could never imagine that all my teammates would come over my breasts," I said and snorted, making Neji laugh. I looked at his strange behavior, smiled at that. Our tea arrived before we could say anything, I started to drink mine calmly, looking at his eyes all the time. Okay. What bizarre game was this? Why is he like this? What happened that I didn't understand? Lee entered the teahouse and walked over to Neji, calling him to visit Naruto.

"That would be a good idea," I commented, remembering how Naruto was alone at times. I got tired of spending time with him. "He needed his friends," I said, agreeing with Lee, giving him another smile.

"I'll just end here and meet you in a few minutes," Neji replied, and Lee agreed to run out of the house, within minutes we finished our teas and left. As my house was toward Naruto's, I walked with Neji to some extent.

"Well, now you should go and have a good time," I said, poking the man who smiled at me. I loved when he smiled at me, it was as if the world stopped for a moment. I felt Neji approach and I felt my body paralyze, his face coming every second closer to mine, and finally his mouth touched mine, kissing me so hotly. Neji's kiss was slow but exploratory, he pulled back and smiled at the mess I was at the moment.

"Your mouth is my favorite too, I just never thought it would want something from me because of Naruto, maybe I saw something that didn't exist," he said and I widened my eyes. "I'm always in the mood, just like my body after all, I also have a cliff for you," he said and gave me another kiss before leaving and planting me in the middle of the street with a beautiful smile on my face and a heart running like crazy.

[krisb-writing-blog]

Chapter 7: Aftermath with a Side of Clues

Start date: 07/31/22

End date: 08/09/22

TW: implication of m**d*r, funerals,

mention of grief counseling

Author's note: sorry this took so long,

delayed due to some life stuff.

side note: slight MW crossover

@txemrn @choicesficwriterscreations

▪︎ __________ 🌷 __________

After the events unfolded, life for the Daltons changed forever. A funeral was held for Addison, which Sam and his family attended, all while Sam was under investigation by the local authorities. The twins entered grief counseling so that they could process their emotions, and a few weeks later their school held a dance, which they were going to attend with friends to help take their minds off of the events. Hannah, Marianne, and Ainsley helped Mickey with her makeup, and took the opportunity to catch up with her. Ainsley mostly just played with a toy cell phone.

"So, do your friends know about...?" Marianne left the question open.

"Yes. I'm sick of getting all of the 'sending well wishes' texts and phone calls though. I'm grieving, but I don't need anyone telling me that they're going to support me in something that isn't their business." Mickey sighed, as Marianne helped her with eyeliner.

"They're trying to be nice, but I can see how it can get irritating. Are you sure you're ready for this, though?" Hannah asked.

"Yes. I need life to get back to whatever normal is for me. Wouldn't you two?" Mickey looked at her stepmother and Hannah.

"Oh sweetheart, you have no idea." Marianne answered, exchanging a knowing look with Hannah.

"Who are you going with?" Hannah was curious.

"My girlfriend Phoebe, my brother, and his girlfriend Adrianna. It was cheaper that way, and it'll be fun. Especially since I'm wearing a dress kind of like the one my birth mom wore to her school dance, and Mason is wearing a suit like Dad's. We didn't plan on it, but after she was... and finding out that she had a picture of us with her, it made the connection stronger." Mickey replied, but Marianne was confused.

"Who told you about the picture? Deputy Marshal Massey never included that in the press release, neither did Detective Reyes." Marianne asked her stepdaughter.

"Dad did. He said they found it in her hand. But if it was never announced, how would he know?" Mickey asked.

"I'm wondering the same thing." Hannah's entire body and soul went numb, realizing what had been done.

"I'll ask him later. For now, let's just focus on getting you and Mason ready for the dance. And remember to get your prom picture." Marianne tried to clear the air, through she and Hannah knew exactly what had just happened. Mickey was starting to realize some things, and Ainsley was trying to chew on a plastic toy cell phone.

After the twins left with their dates, and Ainsley was asleep, it was just Sam, Marianne, and Hannah left with their awkward silence. At least it was, until the doorbell rang. Hannah answered it, and saw someone she didn't expect to see.

"Ms. Russo? What are you doing here?" Hannah asked.

"Nothing much, Haley, just checking in on the grieving hubby, his wife, and his nanny. May I come in?" Sofia answered.

"For the billionth time, it's Hannah, but sure." Hannah moved aside.

"Thanks Hester." Sofia sauntered in, as Hannah contemplated getting a name tag, or her name temporarily tattooed on her hand.

"So, looks like you aren't curled up in the fetal position weeping, Sammy. I mean I know it's been twelve years, but at least show the woman who gave you two children a little sympathy." Sofia sat on the couch.

"I spent years grieving for her and wishing she'd come back. Now I know she won't." Sam stated with little emotion in his voice, rattling Marianne and Hannah.

"Wow Robo-CEO. At least show the woman some sympathy, you were married to her." Sofia scoffed.

As tensions rose, Marianne received a text from Mason with the prom picture, and said that the printed copies would be sent out soon. Marianne showed the picture by casting it to the TV.

"Aw, I wish I had my prom picture to show you guys. I went with my best friend and my dress was my older sister's." Hannah tried to bond.

"Mine looked flawless of course, if you don't count bad fashion attempts in the background." Sofia assured.

"That reminds me of Sam and Addison's prom photo, I found it when I was making a scrapbook for the kids at Addison's parents house." Marianne got up to get the picture, sitting it down to show everyone.

"Sammy honey, you looked like a dork compared to her. Addison clearly had the looks in the relationship. No offense to Marianne of course, marrying for love is... okay, I guess." Sofia stifled a laugh.

"Her dress really looks like Mickey's, she's the spitting image of her mom. Even Mason has more of her looks." Hannah admired.

"I'm gonna go check on the baby." Sam nervously exited the room.

Sam glanced in on the baby's room, before retreating to his office and notifying his wife. After Marianne put the photos away, she, Sofia, and Hannah went onto the balcony for a private chat.

"So? Has he been a sketchy motherf-" Sofia asked, before being cut off.

"Language, and yes. Mickey said that he told her that their baby photo was found with Addison, and that wasn't released to the public. Unfortunately we didn't get it on audio, so we can't use it against him." Marianne answered.

"... what if we did though? Think about it, you have nanny cams, what if one of them picked up the audio?" Hannah asked.

"I'll have to look tomorrow, but that would be a step on a very long road." Marianne replied.

"Anything else?" Sofia asked.

"Legally, the lab is still trying. Because everything is so old and worn, it's gonna take some time, even if a rush order is put on it." Marianne stated.

After the women chatted, Hannah and Sofia left and Marianne joined Sam in bed, as the twins were staying with friends for the prom night. Sam was awoken by what he thought was a glass falling from a shelf in the kitchen, but that's not what he witnessed when he got up.

"Addi?" He said, to a shadowy figure standing at Ainsley's highchair.

The figure didn't say anything back, and vanished into thin air. Anxious and afraid, Sam went to the bathroom and splashed water on his face. Then he saw a clear reflection of Addison in her final moments behind him, with a evil grin. He turned to face her, but she was gone.

"I need to do something. Something to fix this." He said to himself, as he realized he'd soon be stuck with nowhere to hide.