#bellas blabbings

[jellabean22]

I got my annual flu and covid shot yesterday and now I have a mild fever and an interview in 12 hours :)

[littlemissmentallyunstable]

here’s your daily reminder that Grayson Hawthorne is a good singer 🤭🤭

bet you’re blushing

[megacarapa]

hey by the way is there a word for that thing movie titles do where they capitalise the first letter of every word even when they dont need to you know like Howl's Moving Castle or Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure you know what i mean, is there a word for that?

[humhowellujah]

genuinely envious of people that believe in god. not just bc of the comfort knowing that everything that happens (struggles, "blessings" and all) aligns w a predestined plan out of your control BUT mainly because of the holy experience listening to "all around me" by flyleaf must give you as a believer. like im alive......im alive.....i can feel you all around me thickening the air im breathing holding on to to what im feeling savoring this heart thats healing . like that song is enough to turn me into a believer

[tarjapearce]

OMFG NOW U HAVE TO WRITE SOMETHING WITH MIGUEL AND READER INTRODUCING BABY BELLA (that’s just a nickname i’d give gabriella if she was my daughter 😭) TO FOOTBALL 😭😭😭😭😭😭

i’m from germany that’s FOOTBAAALLLL

I was watching a kid play after I came home from work and AHHH reminded me of this ask!! (And don't worry, over here in Honduras we call it football too c: ) Hope you like :')

WARNINGS: Fluff, domestic shenanigans ~

There was little changes in your life after Gabriella was born. Domestic life sure had its perks, and with Miguel everything was thrilling, exhausting and tearjerker.

You had moved to your new home. A two floored home that you and Miguel bought to grow in. Gabriel remained in his now single apartment, teasing his older brother to no end once he saw him with one of your aprons as he cooked dinner while you were bathing Gabi.

Chaos was a constant part of your lives, discovering things as new parents sparked things between your relationship with Miguel. Your teamwork had improved significantly, and so your communication.

Even though there were little misunderstandings here and there, Gabi seemed the common ground that you needed to not fall back into the bad habits pre-marriage you had and sometimes slipped away into your new stage of life.

Gabi or Gabibi, a little play word for Habibi, a little nickname you've given her after watching foreign novelas with Miguel, had grown into a wonderful one year old toddler. And today, she'd witness her Papa's first soccer game.

Chubby cheeks, vivacious eyes that followed Miguel everywhere, a bubbly laugh that instantly melt him was always there whenever he showed up.

His princesa, his Solecito was always shining hard on his rainy days or whenever he had a fight with you. But now, she was resting on your lap, looking for him among the other team players after you lathered her skin with sunscreen and put a little hat to avoid any discomfort.

It wasn't hard to miss her dear Papa, not when he yelled like no other to Peter, and was bossy enough to make him the captain.

Gabi's eyes followed Miguel and she'd squeal and blabble overjoyed whenever he dribbled and kicked the ball here and there. She'd make the grabby hands to him and mumble a pa pa while clapping whenever he was close enough.

"Yes, that's Papa"

You smooched her cheeks while she kept her eyes on Miguel. Another loud squeal came after the whistle echoed, announcing the half time.

Miguel approached and she called him with baby and drooly words. A toothless grin came into her face while Miguel loomed over the both. Just like you, her eyes always looked at him with such marvel it made him weak.

You handed him a towel to dry off the sweat. He then kissed your temple and took Gabi in his arms to them shower her chubby and lovely face in kisses, earning him a raucous laugh and squeal while her tiny hands touched his.

"If I get a to score a goal, is for you and Mama, ok?"

"Ma ma"

"She's been cheering for you nonstop."

You chuckled while getting her back to drink some water.

"I heard her over the field"

"Even though my ears have suffered a bit, she loves watching you play."

"Pa pa!"

"Yes, mi princesa?"

Gabi blabbed and clapped, eyes keen and settled on the ball.

"You think she likes it?"

You took her again as Miguel drank from his bottle.

"Wanna find out?"

---

And against all odds, Gabriella had seemed to take a liking in watching Miguel play. Things seemed to take a turn for her when there was game nights in your own home.

Meaning, Miguel, Peter, Jessica's husband and Gabriel would gather up in the living room to yell and watch at the screen, beverages and snacks on the table. Despite the noise, Gabi wanted to be there, next to Miguel.

It was comical and endearing to see her mimic him whenever he was angry. If he yelled, she'd give a presumably angry screech, and if he celebrated, Gabi would clap and burst into a laughing fit.

Miguel had gotten her a little soft ball that she loved kicking, Miguel would enter his narrator mode and build up the tension to then help his daughter score.

He lifted her up in the air and tickled her.

And now, seeing her kick the ball and play in a little league school team, made his chest swell in pride.

His smile widened as he waved back at Gabi, that had greeted him right after scoring her first goal ever. A little cupcake was to celebrate as you recorded while your dear six years old baby girl smeared Miguel's cheek with frosting.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Hi 👋🏻

So, there’s a scenario that’s been in my head for a while that I’d love your opinion on:

If Alice hadn’t come back to see if Bella is alive, if Edward had been executed by the Volturi, and Victoria been dealt with, and Bella had continued with her human life, what would have happened if e.g. Aro had run into her years later and realised she was that Bella he’d seen in Edward’s memories?

I can’t decide if he would turn her, kill her, or just leave her alone as she never caused trouble regarding the secret 🤔

He more or less told us what he'd do in canon. It's what he tried to do, it was just Edward in the room for it.

Aro wasn't going to just leave her to her own devices as he has no reason to. It's breaking the law for her to know, he has no guarantee she won't go blabbing about to just anybody even if she hasn't so far, and unlike Edward he has no investment in keeping her human or alive.

To Edward, leaving her alone was the best/ideal outcome but Aro's reaction was "lul wut?" to all of this. Edward is one of the few characters who sees "just leave it" as a reasonable option, and just about the only character who sees that as an option after he keeps involving her in his life (Rosalie, for example, wanted to kill Bella for witnessing the truck incident).

This was never a reasonable outcome for Aro and he all but outright says that this is just Edward shooting himself in the foot for no reason.

Which leaves killing her or turning her.

We see Aro's in favor of turning Bella. Bella in Edward's memory showed the potential for having a remarkable talent, for all... Edward wasn't too keen on that idea. Aro tested it himself canonically and with Jane, confirmed that Bella's got some insane gift going on, and offers to turn her on the spot.

He then lets Bella go, but only on the condition that per Alice's prophecies, Bella will either be turned (yay) or end up dead (not exactly yay but at least it's in line with things).

Aro would turn her.

It's a no brainer for him.

[littlemissmentallyunstable]

IM GOING TO PASS OUT!! I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING!! IM SO EXITEDDDDDD

GUYS I'M GIGGLING! FINALLY A NEW BOOK OMG! ALSO WILL WE HAVE MAIN LEAD JAMES?

The fact that this kid will be older than me now😭

[jellabean22]

I have a job interview on Sunday AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[littlemissmentallyunstable]

not mine I found it in pinterest obviously

[the-real-marls-mckinnon]

Heyyy, it's ya girl, Marlene McKinnon

this is a rp blog, my real blog is @theunknownpoetssociety and dm @unhinged-as-hell if you want to join :))

🇮🇪, lesbian, she/they

my fwens:

@lily-evans-for-ya study bug but we love her

@stolemyheelsfromlegolas the platonic loml

@xxcassiexx she wikes me 🤭

@pandora-notyetalovegood idk her but I think she can see the ✨future✨

@remus-lupin-offical is in love with sirius

@captainjamespotter the silliest of the gooses

@ur-local-peter-pettigrew my favorite marauder

@sirius-thesstar is in love with remus

@regregregulusblack THE drama queen

@barty-not-barry I’ve been told we’re similar but I don’t see it

@barbie-wants-to-be-me-fr Barbie, in fact, doesn’t want to be him

@therealcissyblack bitch stole my username idea /j

@itty-bitty-bella no <3

@andro-black she's kinda badass👍

@imbetteratdarkmagicthanallofyou worst guy ever

@rita-skeeeeerrrr gossip but we love her

@loreal-locks dude has great hair

my tags:

#marlene speaks - i blab, #landen takes over - ooc, #marls speaks to the world - i answer asks, #in a silly goofy mood - i reblog stuff

[lovelyladyabsinthewrites]

Love Song for a Vampire Pt.29

Pairing(s): Edward Cullen x Wolf!Reader

Warnings: short chapter

Words:1712

Part 1    Part 2    Part 3    Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  Part 7  Part 8  Part 9  Part 10  Part 11  Part 12  Part 13  Part 14  Part 15  Part 16  Part 17  Part 18  Part 19  Part 20  Part 21  Part 22  Part 23  Part 24  Part 25  Part 26  Part 27 Part 28 Part 30 Part 31 Part 32 Part 33 Part 34 Part35 Part 36 Part 37 Part 38 Part 39

Carmen keeps her gaze fixed outside the window, watching Edward's dark gray Volvo leave their driveway and back into the thicket of trees that lined the way up to the house from the main stretch of road. He'd probably still be able to hear their thoughts until he was miles away.

In the living room with her are the rest of the Denali clan, Irina being the only one sitting. Her eyes, which were starting to turn to a black hunger, swivel from her sisters to the other two. While her talk with Carmen went well enough to calm her down, Irina was still opposed to the idea with working with the wolves. To her they were just mindless beasts that had no humanity, even though that was far from the truth. The rest of them knew that the wolves were more human than any of them were.

Irina, already having a feeling of what was to come, was reaffirmed in her suspicions when Kate takes a seat too close to her on the couch. Ready to reach over and deploy her supernatural gift.

Tanya clears her throat, apprehensive of how this would go. “We don’t want to do this, Irina, but we can’t trust you. Not if you’re still thinking about going to the Volturi.”

Her lips purse together, hands that were on her knees curl up into fists as she regards someone she considered a sister. “So you’re putting me under house arrest?”

“Until you can genuinely promise us that you won’t do anything harmful to the Cullens or the wolves of La Push. Right now, we can’t afford to let you run free.”

Traumatized after watching Sasha be decapitated by the Volturi, Irina was obviously under the complete control of the Volturi’s fear mongering. Any transgression against the law of the Volturi should be meted out by punishment. The wolves were one thing. Going against a promise made to the mega coven was on another level. The Cullens, and Bella for that matter should be reported to them since Bella was no longer willing to keep her end of the bargain. She couldn’t step into their world and stay a soft, weak human. And she was the one who couldn’t be trusted. Bella wouldn’t be the first human to blab about the existence of vampires.

“Why are we putting our own lives for people we don’t even know?” Her tone rises to a higher pitch as her desperation and hysteria were beginning to leak out. “What has this Bella girl or even this new girl done for us? We’ll only get the wrath of Aros and the others! Chelsea can easily-“

“No more, Irina.” Tanya snapped, even making Carmen stand a little straighter. Tanya could get truly ugly when she’s at a boiling point. She was the closest to Sasha, related by blood to her and having spent the most time with her, was particularly mortified by Sasha’s execution by the Volturi.

Never verbally agreed upon, Tanya was the leader; the one to make the big decisions due to her seniority.

Irina, acknowledging the hierarchy in their clan, winces in submission and simmers down. But there was resentment brewing in the depths of her gaze.

“We’re doing this because it is the right thing and because the Cullens are our closest allies. How many times have they come to our aid? They helped us get started here. Helped us to get into our vegetarian lifestyle.” Tanya tries to explain to Irina. “And they’re good. Even (y/n) and I’m sure the others in her pack. They alone were the ones to rise up when Victoria was a threat to the safety of Bella and the community of Forks.”

Carmen and Eleazar nod in mutual agreement. “We met them. They just want the best for the people they’re sworn to protect. The wolves aren’t just animals. They have their humanity intact.”

“Even Bella was a truthful and considerate person. She knows what she’s doing but has to stay true to herself. If Edward and (y/n) are fated to be together, then she felt she had to step down. Bella will not tell anyone.” Eleazar adds.

At this point, nothing they said could satisfy Irina. She was stuck in her grief and the thrall of what she deemed injustice.

With Kate planted next to her though there wasn’t much she could do about her situation but stew. Unbeknownst to anyone else in her coven, a war was be waged in Irina’s heart. On one side were those of her coven-mates. The other was a blob of toxic hate, curling it’s tentacles in her belly.

She didn’t know who would win in the end.

**

You were sent home with extra pancakes to eat on the road. Managing to eat all of them within the following two hours, you regret not eating them sparingly to last you the entire trip. So you pry more information about the Volturi from Edward. Apparently last year he’d gone to Italy where the Volturi established the center of their coven. At that point of his life he didn’t want to live anymore thinking that Bella was dead. He knew if he transgressed against Volturi law that they would kill him.

You should have felt uncomfortable when he spoke of her. Maybe you should have even felt jealous. Imprinting possibly had something to do with it. When you couldn’t come up with a concrete answer, you tend to blame it on imprinting.

Bella was his first love.

The Volturi had tried to recruit Edward for many years due to his special powers as well as Alice. Vampires that were in possession of such skills were revered in the Volturi. That was another reason why they were a formidable force and the largest coven in the world.

A reminder that they could wipe out your pack easily if they desire.

Not just your pack, all of Forks.

“Do you really think with enough allies we can win?” Even with Evita’s help, you worry that it won’t be enough. The Volturi sound vast in their power and unstoppable in regard to number of members.

Edward doesn’t pretend like it’s not a possibility that everyone could be slaughtered. Even he finds himself doubting the ability of being able to persuade the Volturi to change their mind let alone defeat them. There were many specially skilled vampires in the Volturi. Excellent trackers and those who specialized in espionage and total carnage.

There were vampires employed with the Volturi who had such unique skills, that it wasn’t a wonder how they had garnered so many members. In particular a female vampire named Chelsea and Marcus were detrimental to ensuring that they remain loyal to the three vampires who ran with an iron fist.

“Chelsea can influence emotional ties that people feel toward one another. Love, loyalty, hate. . . She has the ability to strengthen and break bonds. Many other vampire covens have been destroyed thanks to her power. Her job is made easier with Marcus who can see relationships and connections.” Even Edward was smart enough to fear them. You hear it in the grave tone that sends chills up your arms. Like they could already be watching you.

Unconsciously you toy with the charm Evita had made you. You didn’t know if it worked, but it gave you a soothing placebo. None of the Denali members mention or even noticed it.

“But I wouldn’t give up on our cause just yet.” He shoots you a small smile. “Carlisle and Jasper have been talking about looking up some old friends. There are many others that oppose the rule of the Volturi. I’m sure the Romanian coven would be all too happy to kill a few Volturi members if possible.”

The edges of your eyes round. “Like Transylvania Romania?”

He laughs and it’s such a pure sound that it has your heart aching to hear it again. “Well kind of. Their coven was formed even before Romania was formed. They’re the oldest coven out there but unfortunately it’s just two left now. The others were killed by the Volturi.”

You chew on your bottom lip before asking “Is there really no other coven as big as them?”

Solemnly he shakes his head. “Our kind are mostly nomadic. It really isn’t that often that we find other clans.”

Whether the others in your pack would agree with you or not, you’d started to consider the Cullens and the wolves one large family unit. You and Edward were finally bridging the gap between the two. With time maybe the others would think like you too.

With both wolves and vampires, your mixed coven would potentially be the strongest; even enough to make the Volturi nervous.

”It still feels odd to drive into La Push without worrying about breaking the treaty.” Edward muses as he pulls out of the highway. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it.”

You chuckle and in the distance you catch the long howl of one of your packmates. A welcome as well as alerting the others that their sister was back home where she belongs. Above the treetops and mountains, the sky was already a vibrant array of purples, pinks, and orange. The drive was just as long coming back but due to Edward’s fast driving you still made a record time. You couldn’t wait to stretch your legs and run in your furs.

Edward caught the howl to and hums. “Do you know who that is?”

Your lips curl into a smile as you nod. “Yeah. That was Collin. I can tell by the whiney quality in it.”

While the original plan was to drop you off at your house so that you could reassure your parents that all went well, but there’s a curtain that descends over Edward’s face. Instead he drives the car straight to Sam’s residence.

You sit up straighter. “What’s wrong?”

”Evita still doesn’t know about Jacob, right?”

You didn’t like where this was leading to. “Right. . .”

As the car pulls up into Sam’s driveway you see an unfamiliar car out front beside Sam’s vehicle.

Now you could catch the scent of not just Jacob, but Bella and Evita as well.

——

——

TAGLIST: @saltedcoffeescotch , @dangerouslittlefairy , @burn-crash-rqmance , @casedoina , @avadakadabra93 , @daryldixonstorm , @blue-aconite , @xanniestired666 , @esposadomd, @godinho11 , @arin-swear-rose , @alexizodd , @melaninsugarbaby , @lyeatoalinatoheaven , @ronwownsme , @itsmytimetoodream , @afro-hispwriter , @mutandis-extremis993 , @hxgemxscles , @nightly-polaris , @corrodedcoffins-slut , @ellesalazar , @itgetzweird08​ , @crybabyatthediscooffandoms​ , @sassyandclassyx​ , @scarlet2007 , @theroyalbrownbarbie , @jennyamanda8 , @stevenandmarcslove , @biancaindaeyo , @loversjoy , @turningtoclown , @vixorell , @xxthackerybinxxx , @daredevilonmyheels , @dumbbitch-juice , @southern-bell-give-hell , @nat-the-gemini , @imdoingathingmomgmom , @emmettcullenswife , @yoong1c0re , @daddykylokenobi

[theriu]

River Reads Midnight Sun

Chapter 2: Open Book

In which Edward faces his fears and spends an agonizing amount of time hyperfixating on Bella.

<-Chapter 1

So we jump into chapter two AND next week, as it has been six days since Edward (shockingly) succeeded in leaving town forever (citation needed)! He is chilling (ha) in a snowbank, staring up at the stars, which are truly magnificent. Or he knows they would be, except he can't quite see anything except Bella's face. Yes, the girl has haunted him straight to (checks location on a map) oh he's in ALASKA, okay! I wasn't sure where Denali was, but I was PRETTY sure even Edward couldn't drive a car to Russia. (You'll see why I considered Russia in a minute.)

Anyway, the "unremarkable" face of this girl he's literally never spoken to directly has been haunting him for six days, which is indeed troubling. While he is brooding on this, the thoughts of a new character come leaping towards him. This is where we meet Tanya, a vampire with silver skin, blonde-but-almost-pink curly hair, amber eyes, and full lips. Mary Sue Tanya is stunning and exquisite, at least from Ed's memory, since he still can't see past the face permanently branded on his eyeballs.

So anyway, Mary Sue Tanya does a cannonball into Ed's snowbank, burying him alive with snow but not burying the image of Bella. It becomes clear that she has been crushing on Ed and is sad he will be leaving soon and doesn't return her affections, although he is very polite and gentlemanly about it.

(Honestly, I liked her well enough until we got to the "I'm not used to rejection" line, and then she starts sifting through the memories of all her human male conquests next to the actual mind reader who she is attracted to, to which I say WOMAN REALLY??? I don't think making the guy you like EVEN MORE UNCOMFORTABLE than he's already admitted you kinda make him is an effective way to gain his affections?!)

ANYWAY, thankfully they get off THAT subject quickly and have a really quite nice conversation, wherein Ed apologizes for getting her hopes up by coming to her home territory and Tanya tries to be a good friend. We see a mention of her "long-lost Russian accent," thus my uncertainty about location, and she tells him she knows he won't keep running from his mystery problem because he's the type who faces things head-on. Mary Sue TANYA then runs away across the snow, so light and fast she doesn't even leave footprints, suggesting a connection between vampires and wood elves.

Encouraged by this pep talk, Gary Stu Edward also gets up and runs footprintless across the snow, determined to be brave and go back and face those "bewildered chocolate-brown eyes," and hopefully not eat the girl attached to them.

SCENE CHANGE!

Edward's back in town, and his three vampire siblings/classmates are huddled around him as they head into the lunchroom, being quite adorably protective, honestly. Alice is trying to foresee any problematic eventualities, Jasper thinks it's funny that EDWARD is the one everyone's fretting over instead of him, Emmett is acting like a bodyguard, and Ed is just exasperated with all of them.

To his surprise, nobody at school is thinking about them, suggesting that Bella didn’t blab about his black murderstare from last chapter. After all, a normal human would have asked around about it, because humans and especially teens all like to feel NORMAL and FIT IN and be a "featureless flock of sheep" and WOW, should I be more annoyed at Ed or the author for this intense bias against high schoolers?! But of course Bella isn't like those OTHER kids, she doesn't do things like talk to people when something weird happens!

About this time, Bella walks in and Alice is all, "Act human!" To which Emmett responds by taking out the snowball he compressed into an ice chunk with his superstrength and chucking it at Alice, who casually deflects it across the room at superspeed, where it cracks a brick. This does, ironically, draw attention away from them. Everyone is annoyed at Emmett, which is fair, but also, ALICE COULDN'T YOU HAVE JUST CAUGHT IT INSTEAD OF POTENTIALLY SHOOTING SOMEONE?

Ahem. So Bella's in the lunch line, and Mike Newton, Regular High School Guy And Insignificant Human Rival, is worried about her. Ed starts also worrying about if she might be sickly, what with her translucent skin. (Are we 100% sure BELLA is human?!) The vampires do a slightly better job of acting natural, and Edward decides to refer to Bella as “Bella” and not just "the girl,” "as if she were the only girl in the world," which is HILARIOUS considering where we all know this is going!

After eavesdropping on Bella and Jessica whispering about him looking at her (Bella thinks he's mad at her, after the whole murderstare incident), Bella hunkers under her hair and avoids eye contact, although Ed thinks she keeps twitching like she WANTS to look at him. Then, at long last, lunch ends and everyone starts going to class. There is another internal struggle while Ed reviews what all of his vampire family members have advised about this situation. (Emmett sounding the least helpful, as he has apparently encountered two such delicious-smelling-people incidents that... uh... sound like they did NOT go well?) But Ed is determined to prove to himself that he has the self-control to sit through biology without murdering Bella, so off he goes.

(By the way, Rosalie complains she doesn't want to have to move because they're almost finally out of high school. Again, why are you pretending to be high school students?! It's not like you'll age whether you're there or not?! HOW DOES THIS HELP YOUR COVER??)

Edward gets to Biology to find Bella at their table, doodling randomly. He decides to introduce himself. He gets briefly lost in gratuitously detailed descriptions of her eyeballs and how they are simultaneously like chocolate and strong tea, and how could anyone so frail be deserving of his unwarranted hatred last week? He's also holding his breath, but has enough air in his longs for a reasonably lengthy conversation AND a short laugh, during which Bella is... surprised/startled that he called her Bella? Because her dad introduced her to everyone as Isabella? But she's apparently told multiple people since she got here that she prefers Bella? So he probably could have learned that even without his super vampire eavesdropping powers? WHY is this weird enough to be suspicious, and HOW does it indicate she is intuitive?

Well, the book and Ed believe she is insightful and intuitive, so I guess we should just go with it. Ed does eventually needs to breath so he can talk, and even though just breathing through his mouth is like tasting the FIERY COALS of her deliciousness, and their brief moment of making skin contact is like an ELECTRIC SHOCK, he manages to continue acting normal.

By the way, along with being unconventionally if lopsidedly pretty and smelling delicious, Bella was also in advanced-placement biology at her previous school and Knows Science! Edward realizes this must mean she is ESPECIALLY intelligent for a human, which of course makes perfect sense. After all, she was the first student in two years to look him in the eye long enough to notice they'd changed from the Murderstare Incident's I'm-going-to-eat-you black to today's calmer I'm-probably-not-going-to-eat-you-except-by-accident amber/gold! My friends, may I remind you this man previously admitted he has two medical degrees, a thing that probably required some amount of physically attending college. I really wonder if Ed's standards would be more realistic if he ever once SOCIALIZED WITH HIS HUMAN CLASSMATES.

In an effort to maintain normalcy, they talk about the weather. Bella does not like the cold and wet of Forks. She clearly does not like being in Forks at all. She is vague and grumpy about why she came here, and Edward is so obsessed curious that he may implode (this is the actual word used). We learn (agonizingly slowly) that her mom remarried—and no, Edward, Bella DOES like the guy, he's nice and a minor-league baseball player; and no, Edward, her mom DIDN'T send her here, SHE sent HERSELF here so her mom could happily travel with her step-dad rather than unhappily stay home with her! Ed is certain by now that Bella "isn't like other humans" because he keeps guessing her story arcs wrong and she's just so CONFUSING and UNPREDICTABLE, and this can't possibly be because he's about 100 years out of practice having a normal conversation without a cheat code into the other person's brain.

(Okay, to be fair, there are at LEAST two moments of self-awareness where Ed wonders if he'd be this bad at reading everybody without his mindreading powers. We should give him points for that.)

But despite his difficulties, he DOES figure out that Bella is unhappy, mostly by her sending out signals that a rhino could decipher. When he confronts her with this observation, her response is, "So?" And after meditating on this for an unusually brief paragraph, Ed realizes THE ANSWER:

"She was selfless."

I'm sorry, guys, I need to break for a second, that's the first part that made me laugh out loud. Can someone lend me a combine to harvest all this corn.

(Side Note: As previously stated, I have not read the books or watched the movies, so I could be biased by the negative side of the fanbase. But my general impression of Bella has not lent itself to "selflessness." BUT, it is only chapter two and I am only going off of general hearsay! The amount of poorly concealed disgruntlement is not impressing me, though.)

Anyway, Ed guesses that she doesn't really like her situation but doesn't want people to KNOW she doesn't like it. He continues to marvel at how positively he feels towards this girl, how discerning she is, how *cough* selfless she is, not like an "average martyr" who would actually tell someone she's not 100% happy with her SACRIFICE. Bella gets annoyed, which Ed finds amusing, so there's another adjective for the list. But then she says she's annoyed because she's so easy to read, and Edward can't believe this, because he's never had to work so hard to read someone before! Again, this couldn't possibly be because she's the first person in 100+ years whose mind he can't read!

By the way, Bella also seems to be oblivious immune to the usual red flags normal humans feel around vampires! Ed tries smiling dangerously at her, but the teacher breaks up their conversation with actual classtime, so he gets to angst for a few paragraphs about why he shouldn't find this girl interesting and how dangerous this is for her and yet how MUCH he wants to know more about her. And also trying not to kill her when her thick, black hair flips in his direction and drives his vampire nose bananas.

He books it as soon as the bell rings, having survived the encounter without murdering anyone but with so many new questions about this unremarkable, shy, frail, unmindreadable-yet-highly-face-readable, delicious-smelling, selfless, quietly disgruntled human girl.

(Side Note: I have learned a new word!

"Attar—a fragrant essential oil, typically made from rose petals."

Ex: "Again, I gasped at the clean, wet air outside as though it was a healing attar."

*loud sighing noises*)

So after that brief break, he goes to class with Emmett. Emmett, IMMENSELY HELPFUL EMMETT, asks how it went, questions if it wouldn't be easier to just get it over with, reassures Ed that everyone would understand if he messed up (GIVING IN IS NOT THE SAME AS "MESSING UP," EMMETT), and then vividly visualizes a time he experienced a really good-smelling woman and ate her. Between his earlier blasé-ness about not "wallowing in guilt" over past mistakes and this section's lack of anything indicating regret about that incident, I take back any nice things I might have said about this guy. Emmett, YOU. ARE. THE WORST.

It's so bad that Ed has to bolt out of class AGAIN, although it doesn't help that Emmett follows him and continues to suggest maybe Ed should just get it over with if it's so bad, can Alice or somebody please come punch him. Ed finally gets him to leave and hides in his car. Then, "like an addict" (his own words), he searches the whole school for thoughts about Bella. From his car. My GUY, just how UNREASONABLY powerful ARE your mind radar skills???

He finally locates Bella in gym class, because Mike, who is mad about Ed talking to her, is thinking in logical, complete sentences (as one does) about how satisfied he is that Bella doesn't seem interested in Edward. He also conveniently remembers her asking "what was with" Edward last Monday (after the Deathstare Incident). So apparently Bella isn't QUITE abnormal unique enough to stay totally silent when she encounters a weird thing (not that Edward notices). Ed's response to his annoyance over Mike's satisfaction is to blast "violent music," which seems the opposite of helpful to me.

We end the chapter with Bella coming out of school and heading to her rusty old truck while Ed watches her creepily from his car. She almost hits another student's car when she locks eyes with him, and Ed has to laugh at her sudden increased driving vigilance, as if she might be DANGEROUS! Because of course it's RIDICULOUS to think that BELLA could be dangerous to ANYONE in ANY vehicle, as if the driver's physical frailty has any bearing on the damage a truck can do when crashing into cars or non-vampires at speed.

AND SCENE!

I'm gonna be honest, guys, that one was a couple degrees more agonizing than the first chapter. I dread how much more I'm going to hear about Ed's conflicting desires to eat Bella and be attracted to her simultaneously average yet fascinating allure. She's just so unusually unique and smart and intuitive and selfless and shy and frail and inspires protective instincts, you see, and she's not like ANY OTHER human he's ever encountered, even though we have evidence now that sometimes certain vampires just find certain humans irresistibly delicious, and we can probably extrapolate that those humans were somehow immune to vampire powers, too.

I also highly question Bella's above-average "martyrdom," considering she dropped her guard pretty fast around the cute stranger and basically broadcasted how unhappy she is with her decision, which makes it feel a bit like she did what she did so she could feel good about herself rather than because it was the best thing to do? Being selfless doesn't mean COMPLETELY ignoring your own needs, or justify using your good deed as an excuse to have a poor attitude. Of course, considering that half her traits that Ed notices and marvels over are actually fairly normal, I don't think any of us feel a strong need to trust his assessments of her character.

Next up is CHAPTER THREE: RISK. I'm sure it will feature Edward being very level-headed and undramatic. I think I need to build my endurance back up for this one. (And thanks for the likes and comments so far, they really help keep me motivated! =D)

Chapter 3->

[godstrayed]

❛ see? i'm real. ❜ — Bella

INBOX PROMPTS ╱ 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔.

She was a break from the tedium nature of humanhood; although in some regard vampires were no different not so far evolved from their human roots, all tiresomely predictable. She was quietness, no blabbing consciousness so intrusively spilling into his mind even if he attempted to block it all out — never so silent as if not to hear the murmuring of background voices. There was nothing with her. Just the things she choose to share with him and in some ways, it was infuriating and in others it was nice to not know before she was willing.

“Hardly a figment of my imagination. I know you're real,” Edward says and pinches a bit of brown hair warmed by her treacherous human flesh and drops it. “I just find myself forgetting.” The bleeding heart of girlhood and the way he was unfairly monopolizing her from those who would slot so much better alongside her. His smile is thin, edged with something bitter. “If you were just a figment of my mind, you'd be far more predictable—and infinitely more dull.”

[enelea]

Episode 33 - A sweet little girl

Dina was elated to have a daughter. Hopefully Mortimer would stop blabbing and moaning about Cassandra. Dina was done popping out children now. This was it. She needed the old coot to expire soon. He was really irritating with his old man ways and he snored more each night. Her earplugs didn't even keep the noise at bay. Now he had enough kids to keep the empire going for ages and she wanted to cash in without having to put up with his looming presence. Levine looked like she had promise. At least they had money for plastic surgery if she needed it later in life.

A couple of months passed and Dina decided that it was time to help Mortimer along to an untimely end. She e-mailed the thug she originally hired to kidnap and get rid of Bella. He had proven to be a loyal servant over the years. She needed poison for Mortimer. Something that could make it seem like he had a heart attack or something. Nothing that could be traced back to her. She also needed him to disable the brakes on Alexander's sports car, which his father got him for his birthday. It would make sense - Mortimer dies of a heart-attack leaving Alexander distraught enough to drive his car off a cliff. That would leave her and her children taken care of for life.

[abyssal-ali]

There is Just no Stopping this Thing Called 'Love' - Chapter 3: The Beginning

Pairing: Jaysteph

Rating: T+ (M?)

WC: 1.6k

A/N: Jaysteph Weekend 2023 Day 3: Kissing for a Mission | Hair | PTSD Thanks as always to my beta, Esme! See Chapter 1's notes for more information<3 I think this is my favourite chapter that I wrote for this work.

NOTE: In this AU, canon says that Dick, Jason, and Tim were all living together on the streets before Bruce found and adopted them. In my AU here, Jason did die and went through the majority of his canon experiences, but he was closer to his family when he came back to Gotham. Batman and Red Hood are still on the outs because they disagree on the use of lethal force, but they've been working on overcoming it. RH has been active for just under a year, and is already working on reconciling with the Bats.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Steph looked up from her toilette, startled, as a man jumped into her room through the window and pulled the drapes, peering out past a small gap at the city night.

“Er, excuse me, sir-”

He turned to look at her and she caught her breath. The infamous Red Hood had just broken into her room.

He raised his hands placatingly. “Sorry for dropping in on you like this. Terribly ungentlemanly of me and not my usual actions, I assure you.”

She pushed her stool away from her vanity and stood, assessing him. In this line of work, it paid to read men’s body language.

“What do you need, Mr. Hood?” she switched into her work persona, Effie. Her voice and lashes lowered alluringly as she approached him carefully, adding a little more sway to her strut. “I’m sure you had a good reason to come this way…perhaps you night heroes want some secrecy?”

“No-I-” he glanced out the window again. “I was being followed and this was the quickest way to throw him off my scent. I didn’t realize this was your private room; I apologize.”

The Red Hood was well spoken-of by her friends deeper in Crime Alley, who were now under Hood’s protection, and the months since his brutal takeover appeared to be producing better and better results. Steph decided to trust her gut and let some of her guard down around Hood.

“Oh, detective work, how fascinating,” she flirted, though she truly did find it interesting. “Can I help throw someone off your trail?”

There was a knock on her door and Crystal poked her head in, missing Hood’s remarkably quick duck behind the bed. “Steph, Bella said the Ripper got another one and the Batman is out hunting him. Be careful.”

“Oh no! Was it anyone we know?!” Steph gasped. Jack the Ripper, as the police were calling him, was on a spree of killing lower-class women, specifically targeting girls like her.

She idly wondered if that’s what Hood was out doing, tracking down the murderer.

“No, I don’t think so. Are you almost ready for your number?” Crystal changed the subject.

“I already have a guest tonight, Mama. There was a last-minute change of plans.”

Crystal eyed her suspiciously but nodded and closed the door.

Steph stepped around the end of the bed and put her hands on her hips. “Care to explain anything now, Mr. Hood?”

“I was being followed by the murderer,” he groaned, extricating himself from the uncomfortably squished position he’d been in. “I was checking on the street-walkers, gonna offer some protection and ask them to spread the news, but I got there too late. I left the scene when Batman showed up a moment later, and then I found someone following me. I’m pretty sure he’s the killer.”

She grasped his hand and yanked, jerking him to a stance. “I didn’t ask for your life story,” she tsked. “Ain’t it a bit dangerous to go blabbing Hood business to random girls? I know ya hire some of us for information we get from our clients.”

Hood dusted himself off and pushed his deep red cape back from his face and wow, he was unfairly good-looking, even with a domino mask covering half his face. Why couldn’t her clients look more like Hood, she sighed inwardly.

“I didn’t say anything useful to anyone, and I don’t blab.”

She crossed her arms and eyes him, leaning against the post at the foot of her bed.

“You hiding out here for a while?”

“If you’ll let me intrude.”

“I’ve already told my mother I have ya, so ya might as well.”

“She was your mother? Ya did look similar,” Hood noted. “You…work here together?”

“Yeah, we do. She’s more in charge of us girls, she talks to the owner for us and takes care of the other girls. I’m, well, just one of the attractions.”

“How long ya been workin’ here?” Hood stretched out on her bed, taking care to leave his boots hanging off the edge of the bed, but laid his head on her pillow, his hands tucked behind it.

“A while. I was gonna be a nurse with my mama but my father died and left us nothin’. Mr. Sionis was our only option for the short term,” she shrugged. “Ya really just wanna talk?”

He shrugged and nodded. “A nurse, huh. I could use a nurse sometimes. Gets awful messy after some bad fights.”

“Well I ain’t a nurse now, so don’t think of crawlin’ in like this again if you’re injured,” Steph wagged her finger at him warningly. “I can only take so many nights off.” She perched on the end of her bed, swinging one leg over the edge.

“So you’re sayin’ I can come crawl in like this again if I’m not injured?” he grinned, a devastatingly handsome grin that made her heart skip a beat, and she frowned reprovingly at him.

“I said nothin’ of the sort. Ya wanna see me again, ya come in the front door and pay like the regulars.”

Hood chuckled, and Steph felt something in her melt at the sound. “Alright, Feisty. Oh, we never exchanged names, did we? I’m the Red Hood, but you can call me Hood like my other girls.”

Other girls, huh, Steph scoffed. Well, it would be strange if Hood protected the others for free, she supposed. Or maybe he had plenty of girlfriends in his civilian life.

“My stage name is Effie, but ya can call me Steph.”

He shook her hand solemnly. “Pleasure to meet you, Miss Steph.”

They spent a good while chatting, and Steph found herself with a teeny tiny crush on Hood by the time he swung his legs off her bed and stood to leave.

Look, he was stupid good-looking, respectful, funny, and had a good reputation with the people whose opinions mattered to her, so why not?

He pulled his hood up halfway, then hesitated, looking at her.

She blinked up at him, uncertain why he had paused.

“May I kiss you?” he asked suddenly, and she blinked again.

That was not what she was expecting him to say.

“For the mission?”

“I don’t need to kiss you for the mission; no one’s here. I just want to kiss you. May I?”

Steph blinked a third time. If someone turned him down they were an idiot, she thought, nodding. “You may.”

His hands dropped from his hood to her face, his hood dropping back to rest against his back with a soft thump. Hood’s thumb brushed her cheek softly as he stared at her in silence, his eyes doing something she didn’t understand.The hiss of her gas flame by her vanity sounded loud in the sudden quiet as they stayed there, wrapped up in their own world. 

“Are ya gonna kiss me or not,” she whispered, the words coming out hopeful instead of with the sass she was going for. Steph closed her eyes, cringing at her uncharacteristic vulnerability.

They flew open as she felt a presence directly in front of her, and she stared into the bright green eyes looking back at her. “I am. But it’s gonna be the best kiss of ya life, so I want ya to savour it,” he grinned lopsidedly, his voice surprisingly soft, too.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” she scoffed, but was cut off by Hood’s soft, soft lips on hers as kissed her tenderly. She moved her lips against his, opening up for more, and he took it gladly, sliding his hands from her jaw to her neck, and hers wrapped around his shoulders, holding him closer to him.

He pulled away a scant inch, breathing roughly, and she opened dazed eyes to him. He grinned cockily and ran his hand through her hair, straightening. “The defendant is leaving, Your Honour. Hold court another day.”

With a last quick, stolen kiss, he slipped past her drapes and into the night.

She found a small purse with the equivalent of a week’s wages tucked under her pillow when she went to sleep.

~~~~~

“Effie,” called one of her co-workers, grabbing her from the backstage mirror before she could finish applying a fresh coat of lipstick.

Steph was dragged out to the front of the house, to a young man in a suit, holding his hat in his hands and surveying the bustle of the evening– her profession’s busiest hours.

He looked to be a couple years older than her, but already a shock of white showed through his forelock. 

Steph led him to her room, wondering why he seemed so familiar to her. She had never seen this man here before, either for her or someone else.

“May I kiss you?” he asked, and she startled a little, the phrase she had replayed in her mind hundreds of times over the last couple months sounding just like Hood had said it that night.

“Hood?”

He grinned, and she immediately knew it was him. “You catch on quick, Feisty.”

“Why are you here?”

“I’m on a mission,” he replied, tossing his hat aside and pulling off his gloves.

Of course he’s not here to see you, she scolded herself. “Oh?”

“Yeah. Pretty important, too. I haven’t failed a mission yet, and I don’t intend to start now. Of course, someone may stop me,” he drawled.

“Who?” she asked, unable to stop herself.

“You.” He chuckled at her confused look. “Ya still haven’t answered me, and considerin’ that tonight’s mission is to kiss you, it isn’t goin’ well.”

“Yes, absolutely. In fact, if you don’t kiss me, I will ban you from ever coming back here again unless you pay–with interest.” She lifted her chin challengingly.

“Oh, trust me, sweetheart, I’m interested,” he replied, pulling her into his arms.

Taglist: @jaystephevents

[bb-elite-stellar-carmine]

AU Pecharunt:

"So, you're all of the Mask Maker's descendent's team right? Tell me, has Carmine ever opened up to you about what happened to her parents? I remember an ask saying that a Pokemon killed her mother but not what Pokemon. It's either that 'Hidden Treasure of Area Zero', or 'The Poison Puppeteer'. I'd say the latter. Also, how's Kieran doing? Is he in his megalomaniacal phase? Trust me, that doesn't end well."

Sipsy:...Oh, yeah... she has! It was a... Drednaw or something...

Knight: Yes, it was. But that is not anything of your concern.

Milo: What's a... Hidden Treasure of Area Zero?

Sipsy:...Oh yeah.. you weren't there... it's

[The transcript abruptly cuts off for some moments]

ZHUT. UP! ARZEUZ, keep on blabbing with that big mouth of yourz and we'll aczidently zlip up an- ZZT!

Knight: But didn't we explain what occurred in our previous answer?

...

Knight: ...Rotom?

ANYWAY! Next part of the queztion, zzt!

Bella: Hm... In my vast knowledge, I am unable to recall a "Poison Puppeteer" Pokemon... I cannot help but assume you are lying... so confess up!

Knight: Bella! Can you not try to accept that there is something you may not know about?!

Tell us, just what is this poison puppeteer?

Az for the last part...

What happened to Kiki iz NONE of your buzinezz! He'z doing fin-

Sipsy: He's dead... I feel like Carmine's said that before, right?... I dunno...

... ... ...

Milo:... Are you okay, Rotom?

... ... ...

GET OVER HERE YOU LITTLE ZHI

[The transcript stops suddenly.]